


Have We Room For One More Folded Sunset, Still Quite Warm?

by BookdragonBeth



Category: The Dark Artifices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare, The Wicked Powers Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Angst, Autism Spectrum, Canon Autistic Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Drinking, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Getting Together, Injury, Kissing, Kit POV, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Miscommunication, Post-Canon, Reunions, Swearing, Underage Drinking, drunk!kit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:00:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28113516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookdragonBeth/pseuds/BookdragonBeth
Summary: Kit spent the majority of his life prepared to leave at any moment. Now, having to constantly move between Institutes, unable to stay longer than a couple of months, he wishes he could juststopand finally unpack his suitcase.When he moves into the LA Institute temporarily, he is forced to confront all of his past mistakes as well as what he has been trying to outrun for so long.~~~Kit vaguely wonders whether Ty can also see any differences in him or whether he is still the same scared and angry boy who thought running away from his problems was the same as solving them.
Relationships: Tiberius Blackthorn/Kit Rook
Comments: 66
Kudos: 157





	1. The Sound of Silence

The silence of the countryside was never complete. It was the birds chirping to their neighbour and the fluttering of their wings from branch to branch they had just learnt to use the prior Spring. It was the chomping of grass by cows and the thump of a sheep lying down whilst it raised its head towards your own non-silence. It was the gentle and consistent sound as Kit’s feet hit the grassy lane time and time again.

It was so different to Los Angeles, Kit couldn’t help but compare. The idyllic scenery void of the hustle and bustle of a city. The rolling fields bordered by hedges tamed enough not to overgrow the paths but wild compared to their poor copies in suburban gardens. Sometimes Kit wondered whether _he_ would like it here, whether _he_ would also enjoy the sounds of silence.

No.

He wasn’t doing this. Not now. Not ever.

As he reached the peak of the current hill he just ascended, the cottage came into view below. Tessa and Jem had brought life to the cottage that had been abandoned the better part of a century.

Kit could see Mina’s toys spread across the garden as he headed down the hill after his run. Since coming to Devon, Jem and Tessa have placed Kit on a strict Shadowhunter training regime to make up for all the missed years. 

While he was often dragged out of bed at the crack of dawn against his will, Kit did want to be better. At the LA Institute, he had been surrounded by some of the best Shadowhunters of his generation, quite literally in Emma’s case. After having so much of who he thought he was taken away, when he arrived at Devon the only piece of identity he could cling onto was being a Shadowhunter.

Since then he’s been able to add to the list of who Kit Herondale is. Son. Brother. So he trains. He trains to become a better fighter and protector. He trains to make his family proud. He trains to take his mind off things, a form of catharsis. Mainly, this means taking his mind of one of two things; one being his _other_ training that Tessa likes to help with. The one that tends to raise more questions than answers. The one that takes place indoors away from prying eyes, mundane, Shadowhunter, and Downworlder alike.

He’s slowing to a walk, pulling his arms out in a stretch and shaking his hair out of his eyes, when he feels the dagger pressed to his lower back.

“If you resist the faeries surrounding the cottage will kill all the residents.”

Kit paused. Memories flash through his mind. Tessa dancing around the kitchen while she bakes. Jem learning My Chemical Romance on the violin after Kit’s insistence. Mina’s face as Kit reads her favourite stories, laughing at the voices he puts on.

And, naturally, he follows the faerie’s command.

They drag him through the nearby forest into the clearing where they’ve made their camp. While they restrain Kit’s hands and tie him to the base of a tree, they make one fatal mistake: they didn’t cover Kit’s mouth. Really, if there’s anything Kit can do, it’s talk absolute bullshit.

“Unless you guys are really bad at your job, I’m assuming you’re not here to kill me.” He mentally ran through the list of options this could mean. While Shadowhunters knew very little about Faerie, even before the Cold Peace, Tessa had been helping him learn the limited amount of knowledge they had.

They had assumed that the Unseelie Court would kill the First Heir at the first chance they had. The Seelie Court on the other hand may try to put him on the throne, barely even a puppet king. Not to mention other factions including the gentry and those unaffiliated with either court who might use him as a tool to either increase their own power or to profit from a war between the Fair Folk.

That all being said, it left one crucial question.

How did they find him?

The faeries, unsurprisingly, ignored him. In fact, they were positively merry. The small group nearest Kit crowed over their assumed victory. 

“Just imagine how we’ll be rewarded.”

“The amount of influence he’ll be receiving from this, I’d be surprised if we aren’t showered with gold.”

Well, Kit supposed that answers that.

Before they could even begin to think about transporting Kit to Faerie, Kit felt the rope on his wrists loosen and fall away completely, allowing him to stand up and catch the seraph blade Jem threw to him. The faeries had no time to react before Jem was on them followed closely by Kit.

Jem’s clear anger was concentrated in the swing of his blade. Most of the faeries scattered into the trees but Jem didn’t bother giving chase instead hurrying back to Kit and pulling him back towards home.

He kept his hand on Kit’s arm, keeping him close. “You did a good job leaving markers,” Jem praised as they passed the scratched tree bark and scuffed ground Kit had made away from prying faerie eyes.

“Took your time didn’t you?” Kit tried to joke to lighten the mood, unsure what kind of situation he would be returning to.

Jem smiled wearily in response as the cottage came back into view. When they entered, however, Kit felt as if they had walked into the aftermath of a hurricane.

Tessa hurried out to greet them, pulling Kit into a quick hug and giving him a glance over to check he was all in one piece.

“We don’t know how they found out but it’s no longer safe here,” Tessa began grimly. “Your suitcase is in your room can you please go pack the essentials as quickly as possible.”

Kit nodded and disappeared upstairs. He ran around his room, chucking in clothes, not bothering to fold them, and all the pieces he had gathered over his time here. This was the first place Kit stayed that felt like _home_. With Johnny, he was never sure if he might have to pack up in the middle of the night and he had never been the type of father to make collages of family beach trips or give him a small wooden figurine of a duck that Jem insisted he needed. At the Institute he felt like a guest. Maybe if he had stayed longer he might have outgrown the habit of living out of a suitcase. 

So it was with a new feeling that he looked around his room, now mostly bare, while he forced the suitcase to close and grabbed his rucksack.

There was a collection of bags growing outside of Mina’s room that Kit also grabbed on his way downstairs. While the furniture remained, it certainly looked like a different room without the photos that had covered the walls and a violin displayed at the ready. 

Eventually, they all made it downstairs. It was a surprise they could carry all of the bags, Kit supposed anyone who’d been alive for hundreds of years would have a _lot_ of stuff. 

And so, with all of the memories tucked away for now and Mina’s favourite stuffed animal hugged close, Tessa opened the portal to the New York Institute.

It was early morning in New York and, as a result, they fell into the foyer, startling Clary in her pyjamas. They gathered at the dining table along with Jace, Izzy, Simon and, once they’d received the call, Alec and Magnus.

Kit fed Mina eggy bread on his lap while Tessa and Jem explained the situation to the others, already having asked Kit, they revealed the history of the First Heir and what that meant for him.

They stayed at the Institute for a couple of days while they came up with the plan. Although, ‘plan’ was probably a stretch. It was agreed that those gathered will form a small team to investigate how the faeries had known about Kit and found him. The end goal, of course, was to essentially solve the whole issue and keep Kit out of permanent danger. No big deal then, right?

At the moment, however, they were sure word would spread fast across Faerie, if it hadn’t already, and who knows how many people could be searching for Kit. 

“I just don’t think it’s safe for Kit to remain at any one place for too long unless he wants to be shut inside the entire time,” Alec argued.

“What do you propose then?” Jace slumped back on his chair. They’d spoken briefly during Kit’s time here and even trained together which, Kit will admit, was nice. He figured Jace is just agitated since he can’t fix this problem with a blade.

Alec sighed, looking directly at Kit who could see the clear dismay in his eyes. “You could travel between Institutes not staying for longer than, say, two months at a time. You’d have to leave before you could be tracked down. I could say you’re on an official top-secret research mission for the Consul. No one would be able to question it.”

Tessa nodded regretfully besides him. “We could do that.”

Kit suddenly shook his head. “I’m going on my own.”

Jem also turned to look at him from the doorway where he’d just put Mina down for bed.

“Kit-”

“No. I’m serious. You can’t be dragging Mina around the world every other day. She needs somewhere to settle. I’ll be fine, I promise.” Kit took Tessa’s hand under the table. In the back of his mind, he could hear the faerie’s threat to his family and he vowed to never let anyone get hurt because of him.

It took much more arguing and persuasion before they realised there was no other way. A warlock and former Silent Brother didn’t really make for anonymity. 

Then, the day came. Tearful hugs with whispered _I love you_ s and _I’m proud of you_. A kiss on the top of Mina’s head and a tap on the nose. Promises of letters to write and video calls planned, the mix of old and new, two opposites blending perfectly into the family that Kit would miss.

But he had no choice. He was doing this for them, he reminded himself.

And so, he stepped through the portal.

~~~ 18 Months Later ~~~

It was a familiar routine, Kit realised, as he packed what little had been taken out of his suitcase. But that certainly didn’t mean Kit had gotten any better at saying goodbyes.

He thanked the Head of the Moscow Institute for the training he had taught him. He said goodbye to the few friends he had made and laughed with. The ones who had drunk him under the table when he turned 18 and helped carry him back to bed. Promises to keep in touch were common and each type the hope was new. 

They wished him good luck with his report for the Consul which he accepted and assured them they had helped greatly despite, in reality, being frustrated at the complete lack of, well, anything he could gain from the Moscow Institute’s records and resources. 

He portaled back to the New York Institute as expected. Formally, it was to exchange information and be briefed on his next location. Informally, it was to have a cup of tea and catch up with his friends.

Jace greeted him as he walked through with a solid hand on his shoulder to which Kit laughed and pushed him off. 

“Anything new?” Kit asked as they headed to the kitchen, unable to stop the desperate hope he tried to suppress each time he arrived. 

Jace looked at him regretfully, “Nothing of any use. You?”

Kit shook his head in return and shrugged lightly. “No worries.” He tried to reassure as Clary pressed a cuppa into his hands. He simply held it as he sat at the table to warm up the fingers which had been freezing since going to Moscow. Clary gave him the expected worried look at his blasé response.

“So,” he began, “where am I off to next? Please tell me the time zones aren’t too different.”

Jace and Clary exchanged a quick glance making Kit tense. “Well, you see-” Clary started before Jace beat her to the punchline.

“The LA Institute.”

What a punchline it was too.

Kit nodded vaguely while his mind whirled. What was his first thought, you might be wondering:

 _Well shit_.

Young, angsty teenage Kit did not make many good decisions. It could be argued that not much has changed, Kit will elect to ignore these arguments. Yes, he should have said goodbye to the Blackthorns. He knew he messed up, he did. But he also knew just how much he was hurting at the time and, when his fight or flight instincts kicked in, Kit returned to familiarity: running away.

Should he have tried to reach out since then? Absolutely. Has he? Of course not. Maybe more time with Tessa and Jem would have soothed his fears of being unlovable. But when he was travelling he could come up with easy excuses, after all, how on earth could he explain his return address?

Besides, he was sure the Blackthorns all hated him now. He vaguely wondered what they thought of Alec’s message informing them of their guest. Especially-

Especially Ty.

Who he had left after promising not to. Whos trust he’s broken. Who ignored his confession.

 _He doesn’t hate you_ , the voice at the back of Kit’s brain told him, _after all, he doesn’t even care about you. You’re nothing to him._

He had no choice but to go there and, if he’s lucky, spend the two months in his room unbothered. As Kit walked through the portal, returning to LA, the city he had grown up in and fallen in love in, he really had no idea what was waiting for him on the other side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Ty isn't in this chapter but I promise he will be here soon and will not leave but yeah sorry for all the backstory and infodump I promise it's needed


	2. I'll Meet You Where The Sky Meets The Sea

The first thing Kit noticed as he stepped into the LA Institute was that, well, it was exactly the same as when he was last here. The stiff chairs along the wall which were purposefully designed so people don’t want to sit on the uncomfy furniture. The mural on the floor depicting the Angel Raziel with the Mortal Instruments seemed to glare at Kit, Lake Lyn in particular giving him the strange sense of déjà vu you get when something reminds you of the nightmare from the night before.

He raised his head as he heard footsteps from the second floor and noticed, with a sharp pain in his chest, the Livia’s Watch banners hung proudly for all to see.

The banners reminded him how much has changed since he first set foot into the Institute; forcefully pushing the doors open, eager to prove that he wasn’t what they said he was. That he was Kit _Rook_ : a con artist and a criminal and would never be anything more.

So much had changed. While the floors remain and walls are still standing, Kit has grown. He learnt what it meant to find friends and feel accepted. To fall in love and have your first heartbreak. To understand what family was. Despite his desire as a child to run away, he knows now that what he really wants is to settle down somewhere. To make his own _home_. Wherever and with whoever that may be.

When he was compelled to stay he wanted to leave and, now that all he does is say goodbye over and over, all he wants is to stay.

The universe must be laughing.

Emma rounded the top of the staircase and made her way down. It was nice to see a familiar face, one that hadn’t changed so much except for the addition of the easy smile that no longer needs to hide her true emotions. 

“Kit,” she calls and pulls him in for a quick hug. Back when Kit was living in Devon, Jem would update him on the Blackthorns’ lives through Emma’s letters. Of course, he doesn’t know what has happened in the last year and a half. “How have you been?” Emma asks as he carries his suitcase upstairs.

“Fine, yeah, been busy. How are you?” Kit hadn’t realised until now how difficult it was going to be to lie to everyone here. People who might actually want to know what he’s been doing, to find out what justified his leaving.

“Great!” Emma directed him through the corridors. “Me and Julian have just come back from our travel year so the Institute is full again for the first time in a while.”

“What do you-” Kit began but paused when he saw Emma had stopped them outside his old room.

“No one’s touched it since you, well, since you left.”

“Oh,” was all Kit could say with the churning of his stomach. He quickly dumped his suitcase just inside the room and closed the door. _I’ll deal with that later_ , he thought in a totally healthy coping mechanism. 

“Well, it’s almost time for breakfast, everyone should be heading down now so you’ll get to meet everyone down there.” She explained as they walked the familiar path to the kitchen.

Julian was already there when they entered, making enough pancakes to feed a small army. Kit would have to be blind not to notice the way he lit up when he saw Emma join him. Kit sat on the bench at the table, unable to ignore the slight coldness in Julian’s greeting. Which, to be fair, Kit couldn’t blame him for. Not really.

Luckily or unluckily, Kit wasn’t left with just the former parabatai for long, his head shooting up as Dru entered the room. Now, at 16, she was no longer the kid that was designated babysitter of the family. She had grown, of course, but that didn’t make her any less _Dru_ , with her horror film shirts and strong will.

She sat next to Kit and immediately punched him in the arm. Hard.

Yep, still Dru.

“I deserved that,” he admitted.

“You did,” she readily agreed before launching into a story of her friends from the Academy trying to get out of their homework and-

“Hold up a second, you’re in the Shadowhunter Academy?” 

“Yeah,” Dru nodded, quieter but her smile no less bright from her accomplishments.

“Dru! That’s amazing!” Kit exclaimed.

“Thanks, I’m only just back this summer from my first year,” she explained, carrying on with her story and explaining to Kit what she’s learnt, who listens eagerly despite keeping an eye on the door.

As Dru talks, the rest of the Blackthorns along with Cristina file in to grab their food. Helen and Aline, the new heads of the Institute he has to remind himself, who give him a tired wave. Tavvy bounces in and Kit has to remember the small child he had left. Nearly everyone was here crowding the small room, the buzz of early morning chatter making the room alive. Everyone was here except-

There.

He ducked into the room and Kit stopped breathing.

Well, _fuck_.

Tiberius Blackthorn.

He’s grown, Kit notices first, just ever so slightly taller than Julian. He wonders how that feels to Julian, when their physical appearance may not reflect the typical father-son roles any more. His dark midnight hair still hangs the same across his forehead and dances just above the familiar headphones around his neck.

As much as Kit fights to think about it, he’s filled out, shoulders broadened. Kit can’t help but appreciate whatever training regime Ty is on.

It’s almost disorientating. Seeing the face that Kit fell in love with, the one he couldn’t make himself forget, not once in the last three years. Yet, while in Kit’s mind Ty’s face remained frozen, it has changed. His jawline was more defined, framing his face. Cheekbones had sharpened and in doing so highlighted his eyes.

Ty’s eyes.

Those hadn’t changed at least. The grey eyes that others thought were cold or harsh and couldn’t be more wrong. The grey eyes that reminded Kit of early morning runs in Devon before the sun woke up when fog hung around him and gently muted the world, just for a bit. The grey eyes that looked like the clouds that darken and catch you in their rain, that when most people would try to run away, Kit stopped, fully embracing it. That was a special kind of moment. When you’re already soaked through so there’s no point in resisting. When you accept the feeling of fresh water pattering on your skin and dripping down your face. Knowing it’s washing away the dirt and grime leaving you with a new chance.

The very same eyes that were looking at Kit. Kit saw Ty’s eyes flicker across his face and stare near his shoulder before he turned towards his breakfast. 

Kit vaguely wonders whether Ty can also see any differences in him or whether he is still the same scared and angry boy who thought running away from his problems was the same as solving them.

Dru’s voice suddenly draws his attention away from Ty but he can see in her smirk that it hasn't gone unnoticed. “What’s this top-secret mission from Alec you’ve got then? He mentioned you’ve been travelling?” She questioned.

Kit nods, trying to fall into the role he’s played many times over, knowing this will be his hardest performance yet. “Well, I’m not really allowed to tell you much about it but, yeah, I’ve been to a few different Institutes. I’ve just come from the Moscow Institute so I’m basically having pancakes for dinner now. I’ll be proper jetlagged the next couple days and, honestly, will probably crash in a few hours.”

Dru laughed at his time based predicament but seemed intrigued when he mentioned the other Institutes, despite seeming to be hiding her hurt that Kit refused to tell her about the actual mission itself. And Kit couldn’t blame her. There was a time when no matter what orders he received he still would have told her. Kit noticed then that the kitchen, somehow, miraculously, had quietened down and everyone was listening to him. He placed his cocky smile on his face like a mask to hide his nervousness at being studied. It felt like the teacher marking your test in front of you and you have no choice but to wait until they let you know what you’ve done wrong.

Ty appeared to be looking intently at his food but Kit knew with his headphones down he was listening to him with just as much, if not more, focus than the others at the table.

Suddenly, Kit was ambushed with questions about the other Institutes.

“Wait, where did you go for your travel year?” He directed the question at Emma and Julian.

“Mainly the Paris Institute, we spent a month in Bangkok too, why- oh have you been there?” Emma’s eyes widened as Kit nodded enthusiastically.

“I was there over a year ago. Do you know Louise?”

“Yes! She’s awesome!” Emma exclaimed and even Julian was nodding along smiling. “Her and her girlfriend showed us some really cool places.”

“Wait, girlfriend? Do you mean Aimée,” Kit waited for confirmation. “Man, I was trying to get Lou to ask her out for ages. I’m going to have to text her, can’t believe she never told me.”

And, somehow, without Kit noticing, the ice at the table had been broken. Between Dru sharing her new experiences and having common friends with, of all people, Julian and Emma. Kit had almost fallen back into the Blackthorn family he was used to. But- no. He can’t. Too much has changed to return to what he had found in the Blackthorns and, more specifically, in Ty.

“Come on then, show me all the new tricks you’ve picked up.” Emma placed her hand on Kit’s shoulder as she passed while everyone else was finishing up with breakfast and tidying away. 

Dru pulled a face at Kit and he certainly felt the terror that any reasonable human would feel at the prospect of fighting Emma Carstairs. “If you don’t hear from me, call the Shadowhunter cops,” he gravely requested before placing his plate in the dishwasher (not trying to steal a glance at Ty, no, not at all) and hurrying upstairs to change into his training clothes.

When he entered the training room, Emma was already poised in a fighting stance. As he took his place, he could see the blue blue ocean outside the windows which he had missed so much.

 _Later_ , he promised himself.

Now, he had to try to not get himself killed. He knows he’s improved. It was going to happen through all the time and effort he’s put in. But, it was something different as the seconds ticked by and he hadn’t yet been knocked off his feet. 

He noticed Emma’s shift in weight and moved accordingly to avoid her punch just as Jose had taught him in the Rio de Janeiro Institute nestled in the cliffs under Christ the Redeemer. Kit then rolled to the side and rose while spinning to face Emma, a voice in his head reminding him to stay light on his feet that sounded an awful lot like Kokoro’s voice. He punched, kicked, ducked and dodged. Techniques and skills from around the world, taught by all ages and blended together into one fight.

And, of course, when Emma eventually pinned him to the ground: he gracefully accepted defeat like Jem had taught him.

Well, gracefully might be a stretch. 

“In my defence, my back injuries from carrying the pressure of being the hottest Shadowhunter are pretty extensive.”

“Fuck off,” Emma chuckled as she pushed off him. “Well done,” was all she said as she left to go on her morning run.

Kit took a second to smile to himself, trying to imagine her reaction if he had pulled out a move from Tessa’s training, despite his limited practical training, he’s spent countless hours locked away in his guest rooms working on his ‘top secret Consul mission’. 

But he can’t. The same reason he can’t truthfully answer Dru’s questions about his mission. It would raise more questions than answers and, well, it would cut his stay short. And, despite his worries coming to LA, he does want to stay. To spend time in the city he grew up in. To, maybe, possibly, try to repair his friendship with the Blackthorns. Tessa and Jem would be proud of him, he thinks happily and promises to give them a ring after his shower. They liked to know that he’s arrived at wherever he is all okay.

In fresh clothes with the smiles and kind words of his family following him, he peers into the kitchen and, once seeing its empty, makes a quick sandwich to make up his lunch despite it feeling like a late night snack to him.

“There you are!” He hears Dru exclaim as he spins around, mouth full.

“Me?” Kit questions, or, well, tries to question. Instead, an unintelligible gargle of sounds came out.

Dru just rolls her eyes and begins pulling him out of the kitchen and onwards out of the Institute.

“Am I being kidnapped right now? I’m flattered, really. What made you choose me? My hair? My charming personality? My-”

“I’m taking you to the beach, thank you very much,” Dru revealed. “Maybe if you shut up for once you could think about how grateful you are that I’m doing this.” 

And, well, Kit couldn’t miss the look she gave him that implied if she wasn’t here forcing him he might not have come down to the beach at all. At least not any time soon. Really, Kit can’t defend himself much.

The beach just held a lot of memories. When he thought of LA, he never thought of the city as a whole. Before, to him, LA was the Shadowmarket. But then, when everything changed, it became the beach.

They kicked off their shoes and sunk their toes into the sand warmed from the summer sun. The sand he and Ty had crossed numerous times. The rockpools where Ty had taught him all about the creatures that live there. The water him, Ty and Livvy would swim and splash and-

Kit struggled to breathe as he thought of Livvy. The Livvy of _before_. He hasn’t seen her at the Institute yet but Kit assumed she was somewhere. He just wasn’t sure how much of this Livvy was the Livvy he knew.

He gazed at the horizon. The sea and the sky stretching far

Far

Far

Away.

Two shades of blue; both with eternal depth, yet polar opposites. Waves rolled towards Kit while the clouds gently blew away. That meeting point along the horizon Kit had always found himself drawn to.

What was beyond that point?

When he made plans to run away, the most practical ones involved hitchhiking east. But when he daydreamed and fantasised of a world where he could go with nothing holding him back...

That was when he would sail into the horizon and find out exactly what was in the beyond.

It changed over time and at some point without him realising he had begun to add another person to his metaphorical boat. 

“So, are we going to talk about you leaving?” 

Kit sighed and turned to Dru, tearing his eyes off the horizon and blinking away the dampness he hadn’t realised had begun to form behind his eyes. Really, he was surprised it took this long for him to be confronted. He took a deep breath as everything he had prepared if this ever happened went out of his head.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left without saying goodbye. I just- there was a lot happening but that's not an excuse! I was a self-centred dickhead and I was too much of a coward to try to reach out afterwards. I just figured you all hated me and I guess I took the easy route.”

“Hmm _was_ a self-centered dickhead?” Dru raised her eyebrow.

“Oi,” Kit smiled wanly.

“That was a sufficient enough apology,” he was informed, “but, Kit, we didn’t hate you. I mean I can’t speak for everyone but I never did. And I really don’t think Ty did either. We were all just confused and hurt for Ty he- he really missed you.”

Kit shook his head. “That’s not possible.” He was nothing to Ty, after all. He always had been.

Dru looked angry then. “I was here. You weren’t. I saw how he was.”

Kit nodded meekly, acknowledging her right to say that to him but still not believing she interpreted what she saw correctly.

“Now that’s sorted and we’re good, want to go watch some horror films?”

“Do I?” He was unable to control his smile as they raced back to the Institute.

Maybe it was the sudden shift in time zone or maybe it was the immense relief lifted from him that made his eyelids droop during the jumpscares and lead to him falling asleep barely ten minutes in. Much to Dru’s amusement, she woke him up and informed everyone at dinner, during which Kit could only just about stop himself from face planting his plate, too groggy and out of it to stop her.

The newly lifted weight he hadn’t realised was there from the reassurance that his and Dru’s friendship wasn’t an utter wreck let him fall into a heavy and dreamless sleep.

~~~

Kit spent a few disorientating seconds when he woke up in the pitch black wondering where he was before he remembered the events of the last day. His phone brightly announced that it was 3:21am and Kit was wide awake.

Kit spent as long as he could appreciating the quiet of a sleeping house, which to be honest wasn’t all that long, until he couldn’t spend any longer there. Knowing he wasn’t falling back to sleep anytime soon, he left his room. Feet softly padding against the floor, he wasn’t even aware of where they were taking him. Following the path he had taken hundreds of times before.

It wasn’t until he was opening the door, the cool night air biting at his face, did Kit realise he had walked to his favourite spot at the Institute on the roof. Hidden from view below but with the wide expanse of the sea just at your feet.

He paused in his steps when he noticed the familiar figure also sitting on the roof. Before he could exit the way he came, Ty had noticed him.

He looked different up here than to how he did in the kitchen this morning. There, he was bathed in the glow of dawn, the sun staring at him face on as if in a competition of who shined the brightest (there was a clear winner to Kit, of course). Now, moonlight dripped off the ends of his hair and across the bridge of his nose. He looked sharper and softer all at once. The paradox of Tiberius Blackthorn.

“I can leave if you want,” Kit managed to get out.

“No you can stay,” Ty told him before turning back to stare at the sea. Kit took a second, struck by Ty’s side profile highlighted on the dark roof, and then shuffled over. He slowly sits down a short distance from Ty, although not as close to the roof edge as Ty is. 

He could appreciate the beach laid out before them, so different to how it looked earlier. The waves raised up, desperate droplets trying to reach the moon above them and, with each tide, you think maybe now, maybe this time they will be able to do it, and each time the wave breaks crashing back to the sand. Unable to break the pull of the earth no matter how much the moon lured them.

Maybe there was a metaphor in there somewhere for him and Ty. 

But there probably wasn’t.

A million things rolled through Kit’s head. Words he thought of saying if he ever bumped into Ty on the street. He wasn’t sure if Ty wanted a conversation or whether he wanted to enjoy the quiet of the night and had only allowed Kit to enjoy it too.

“Are you still mad at me?” He jumped at Ty’s question. Not that he should be surprised, Ty was always straight to the point.

“What? No. I was never mad at you.”

Ty turned his head then, his eyes hovering on his cheek, and Kit noticed his hand fluttering at his side. “Then why did you leave without saying goodbye.”

Kit took a breath, this was it. Something he had hoped for and feared and practised over and over. He didn’t want to mess it up.

“I was hurt, Ty, and I was young and stupid so I didn’t know what to do, how to process everything. The only way I knew how to handle things was to run away so I guess that’s what I did,” Kit admitted. “I need you to know that I didn’t mean what I said afterwards, that I regret ever meeting you because I didn’t- I don’t.” Those words had haunted him. “I was upset but I was never angry at you.” _I could never be angry with you_ , he didn’t add.

Because while Ty shouldn’t have done what he did, Kit could never say it was anything less than understandable. In his grief, Ty had seen the solution to the problem and so he followed it.

“Oh,” was all Ty said with a look of concentration on his face. One that Kit recognised oh so well. When he was piecing the clues together to find the answer but they just didn’t quite fit.

“So,” Kit swallowed, “what have you been up to?”

“I’ve just finished my second year at the Scholomance,” he informed him.

Kit couldn’t hide his surprise, he knew he had encouraged Ty to apply but, with everything that happened with Livvy, he just didn’t think he would. Well, at least that solved the mystery of what Emma meant when she said that this summer was the first time they were all back at the Institute. Kit felt guilty all of a sudden for intruding on their family reunion. 

“That's- that’s great, Ty. Really, I’m happy for you.” He paused. “I, um, wanted to ask. I haven’t seen Livvy, is she- is everything okay?”

Ty’s fingers knotted and unknotted the drawstring of his hoodie, the texture of the material soothing his apparent worry. Now, that made Kit wonder if there was something serious going on. 

“She isn’t here all of the time, she used to be able to make herself come and go whenever she wanted but recently she’s gone longer than she’s here and she can no longer control when she does.” Kit blinked at Ty’s revelation. Maybe this was why Ty was also awake this time of night, mind whirring with the need to help, every second not spent in action a second lost.

“Where, like, does she go when she isn’t here? Is it the same as the, I don’t know, place she was before she got brought here?” Kit questioned.

“No, she said-” Ty swallowed. “She said that it’s emptiness, just _nothing_. She won’t tell me about where she was before but this is worse. A lot worse. She hates it there and I don’t know whether she might get stuck there permanently so I’m trying to figure out a way to keep her here an- an anchor or something.”

Kit took this in. They already tried once to bring Livvy into a world she no longer belonged in, he just wasn’t sure trying to keep her here would end well. He remembers the consequences everyone warned about and maybe this was it. Maybe there was a time limit and afterwards Livvy would be forced to spend an eternity in the void never reuniting with her family. 

_Would she not prefer to be sent back to where she was before?_ Kit thought but knew it was no longer his place to make suggestions like that to Ty. He couldn’t stop Ty before and he wasn’t about to go rocking the plank of wood they called a boat.

“That’s shitty,” was all he could say.

They stayed a while longer, the serene image in front of them becoming threatening as he was reminded of that night long ago. 

When the chill became too much he turned to Ty, “you need to get some sleep. Can’t be solving any mysteries when you’re sleep-deprived.” Kit cringed as the weak attempt at a joke hit the nerve known as ‘things about his and Ty’s past friendship he’s trying to forget’. 

But, nevertheless, it worked. They walked silently through the corridors, reaching Ty’s room first, just a corner bend before Kit’s. When Ty’s hand is on the door, Kit leaps, his mouth moving faster than his brain and all he can feel is complete agony at the wreckage of their broken friendship.

“Hey,” Ty turns to him, “are we okay?”

There's a pause as Kit (and the whole universe) holds his breath.

Ty nods.

And the door closes behind him.

Kit doesn’t need to control the smile that breaks across his face, not that he could have if he tried. He hurries back to his room despite knowing he won’t be getting much sleep.

Despite everything that happened and Kit knowing the limitations of their friendship, he’s happy. He’d forgotten just how good it felt to be friends with Ty again and he wants to hold onto it with two hands. He won’t ask for more, he doesn’t deserve it, but Ty’s friendship is worth anything and he’ll do everything he can to keep it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Casually reading the LA Institute's wiki page and found out they have a mural floor of Lake Lyn like poor Kit but also I have to include this, this is perfect. Also, yes the Livia's Watch banners are an official addition to the Insititute which is so cute don't mind me crying


	3. Will You Get Lost in the City You Grew Up In?

“Now you’re sure you’re eating enough over there, love?” Tessa questioned, eyes narrowing on the other side of Kit’s phone as if she can size him up from London.

“I am. I am. Promise,” Kit reassured her. After sitting in his room for long enough after his reunion with Ty he rang his parents knowing it was lunch time for them. It took a few minutes of Tessa lecturing him on his sleeping patterns and urging him to try his best to get used to the new time zone before he could tell her how his first day had gone. 

Jem seemed happy as he explained his talks with Dru and Ty from where Kit could see him behind Tessa trying to encourage Mina to finish her food.

“We’re going to let you go now to get some sleep okay?” Tessa informed him, not really giving Kit much choice.

“Well done Kit,” Jem smiled proudly, “ring us again soon.”

“Bye Kit!” Mina’s little hand waved excitedly as Kit said his goodbyes and hung up.

He took a deep breath, smiling softly to himself.

“I’m happy for you.”

He jumped out of his skin, almost literally, as his head spun around to see Livvy hovering by the door.

She looked-

The same.

Kit was transported to three years ago as he stared at the face that didn’t age.

“What?” She questioned with a sad smile. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

He rushed over to give her a hug, hesitating as he reached her unsure whether- whether she could- but then she placed a hand on his arm and he enveloped her. She was there, physically, just with none of the warmth (or life) that he always associated with her.

“It’s good to see you,” Kit told her honestly as they sat down. “I wasn’t sure- Ty said-”

Livvy nodded. “He told me he explained the situation.”

“I’ll help.” Kit hadn’t realised he said it until he did. Willingly signing up for more time spent with Ty, he wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing. But he would. He’s always known he would do anything for them. And, well, as the only other person who knows about Livvy and can talk to her, there was no doubt. “If Ty lets me of course.” He knows he’d research anyway. Here or in other Institutes.

“You’ve changed. It’s harder to notice with Ty when I’m with him all the time but I see it. Seeing you now…” she trailed off but Kit knew. Seeing everyone around you grow older when you can’t. Learning new skills, growing into themselves, while Livvy knows she’ll never have that.

“Catch me up,” Kit announced. “Tell me all the gossip you’ve learnt then.” Livvy launched into the stories she could tell and Kit could see it too.

Ty had sharpened. Kit had softened. 

Livvy was exactly the same.

No new learning experiences or new relationships or attempts at being an adult. It was stranger than seeing Ty again, Kit realised. Despite all the changes, at least Kit knows he’s been living his life, he’s been happy. It’s hard being with Livvy, as much as Kit misses her, it’s not the same as having her _here_ , alive. He doesn’t know how Ty does it. Kit feels like he’s staring at an old photograph of a happy moment he knows he can never relive.

The sun begins to poke the edges of the drawn curtains and Kit struggles to hide his yawn. Livvy laughs. “I’ll go find Ty, he should be waking up soon.”

As she drifts towards the door (walking with an unnatural grace as if she is no longer affected by gravity), she turns to him. “Talk to Ty.”

“I- I did. I will,” he stammered out, the guilt of the events flooding back.

“You’ve both been idiots,” Livvy so kindly told him before leaving.

Kit dreamt of lakes, sandcastles and sheep that night, or, should we say morning.

~~~

He missed breakfast.

He very nearly missed lunch too if he hadn’t rushed downstairs, wrongly assuming it would be empty. Very very wrongly.

Kit paused as Dru and Ty looked up from their conversation, dressed in clean clothes fresh from training it appeared whereas Kit sported the latest runway fashion known as ‘pyjamas and drool’.

“Not a word,” he threatened, grabbing some food that had been left out and sitting next to Dru.

As it turns out, a threat made by someone who had just woken up at 1pm with messed up hair and sleep in his eyes was not a very good threat.

Dru laughed at him. “Julian asked me to see if you didn’t mind being put on patrols with the rest of us but I’ll let him know to give you a couple more days.”

Kit nodded weakly in thanks, aware that he had interrupted their conversation but currently lacking the brain power to make light small talk.

“You’ve been gone a while.” Kit looked up at Ty’s voice as his eyesight hovered over Dru’s shoulder. “It would help to go through LA again before you have a patrol.”

There was a pause as Kit tried to work at what to say, unsure what Ty was offering. It sounded like an olive branch? Was it an olive branch? What even was an olive branch?

Then Dru started, kicking into action and turning towards Kit. “Me and Ty need to go collect a report from the Werewolf pack about some demon activity. Fancy coming with?”

Kit realised what Ty had been offering and that Dru understood. He could see how much closer the two had gotten and was glad. Even though he felt a pang that he was no longer the person who could decipher Ty’s ideas.

He nodded eagerly. Kit promised to do better and he couldn’t do that without putting in effort.

“Let me, uh, get ready,” he dumped his plate in the dishwasher and on the way out heard Dru calling behind him.

“You have ten minutes!”

Needless to say, it took him eleven.

Eleven minutes before he was in jeans and a t-shirt. Teeth brushed and hair, well, tamed is the best word to use. Ready for a walk through the place he grew up.

The sun was high above them by the time they set off, the cliche LA palm trees offering them little shade along the pavement. Ty had his headphones muting the aggressive sounds of LA traffic while Dru explained to Kit the work Helen and Aline had been doing to improve Downworlder relations here. 

He didn’t need to think about the direction to walk. Kit practically had a mental map of the streets in his head. The lesson of always knowing your surroundings and your nearest escape route being heavily instilled by his father. 

As they began to enter an area with a heavier Downworlder population Kit recognised houses and people from the market. He knew who to avoid and who’s prices could be haggled down.

Dru was asking him about his time in Devon and he happily shared stories of his family, especially Mina. He noticed Ty had taken his headphones off as they entered a quieter area and wondered if maybe part of it was to listen to him, remembering what Livvy once told him.

_“It’s not good or bad. It’s just something I noticed. It’s not magic or anything. I think he just doesn’t want to miss anything you say.”_

Kit felt a surprising new feeling; a kernel of pride at being able to share these kinds of family stories. He knows better than most people that the Blackthorns did _not_ grow up in a nuclear family. But that doesn’t mean when he arrived and saw the complete love and dependence they had he wasn’t jealous. Now, finally, he has a family. He has these little stories about Mina teething and how Jem likes his tea and toast in the morning. Things he never thought he could have. Things he never thought were something he wanted. 

A complete understanding of another human being and knowing you can ask them anything, trusting you’ll receive whatever they can give.

He was no longer Kit Rook, an orphan who doesn’t know who he is and only has himself to rely on. This time when he turned up at the Blackthorns door, he was Kit Herondale, a Shadowhunter with Faerie heritage who has two pretty badass parents and a sister he would do anything to protect.

He is no longer alone.

~~~

Once he returned to the Institute, Dru heading to the office to drop off the report and Ty going into the training room, Kit figured he might as well get started on his work.

While the LA Institute’s library was smaller than most, Kit knew they had more books on magic and the Fair Folk than what was probably considered legal not that long ago. Not that the Blackthorns exactly had a history of following the law.

Kit figured the newest generation was continuing their family tradition of breaking the law proudly.

He soon found a sizable collection of notable books. Many in Latin or Greek he despaired knowing he was slow at translating. _Must be karma for neglecting my lessons_.

Some, he recognised as copies of other texts he has already read and so skipped over them. Others, he remembered the names of authors who filled their books with their prejudice and frankly obvious inaccuracies. Sighing, Kit knew he would have to read them anyway, in the small chance there was a small tidbit of information shining through. He put them to the bottom of the list of priorities.

His hand fell on a book.

An obviously very old book appearing to have been written long ago.

 _Readeth the Hist'ry at Which Hour the Dram People w're did Separate_ , the title read. And Kit paused.

When the Fair Folk separated? Was this book discussing the formation of the two courts? He had never seen a text going back this far in Faerie history. If they existed, they certainly weren’t accessible to Shadowhunters.

Well, if Kit was going to figure out how not to be used as a tool to bring the courts together, finding out why they are separated seemed a good place to start.

He settled into an armchair and began reading.

~~~

Despite going over Tessa’s training methods for several hours after dinner, Kit was not tired. He supposed that what he got for sleeping till 1pm. He sighed dramatically before putting on an alarm for 8am, trying to ignore the clock blaring the late hour at him and the countdown in his head of the maximum amount of sleep he could have tonight.

Nope. Instead, Kit made the wise decision of yet enough night walking around the Institute. He headed for the library, justifying his being awake by being productive in his research. And if that fails, maybe the book will help put him to sleep.

Kit feels the strange repetition of entering a room and yet again stumbling upon Ty unexpectedly. Maybe he has always been drawn to Ty like a magnet, even when he didn’t feel like it, in reality he was always moving closer to him. 

The question was what would happen when they met.

“I’m not stalking you,” Kit informed the figure in the chair surrounded by books which, looking back, is probably something that a stalker would indeed say. “I was just wandering. Why are you here?”

Ty nodded to the pile. “Research on ghosts’ connections to this world.”

 _For Livvy_ , Kit’s brain unhelpfully added.

“Can I help?”

Ty looks up at Kit surprised, his eyes darted over his face while fingers run over the edge of the book in his lap.

“You never liked researching,” he reminded Kit.

“Well, guess I’ve gotten used to it and I want to help Livvy.”

There was a pause and Ty nodded. “It’ll go faster with two people.” He gestured to a book on the table by Kit. “That was my next one to read. You can start there.”

He picked up the heavy book and turned to the first page titled ‘The First Recorded Ghostly Sighting’. Kit sighed. At least Tessa will be happy with all the books he’ll be reading.

~~~

Kit has been at the Institute for almost a week now. He’s certainly been making progress, however stilted and disjointed, towards repairing the friendships he broke.

Him and Ty are in the library, unsurprisingly. The rest of the Blackthorns are either working or enjoying the sunny day. Kit wished he could be part of the latter. Instead, he’s here. Reading yet another wordy text about how ghosts interact with our plane of existence. Not that he wouldn’t do it, of course. It’s for Livvy, after all.

That doesn’t mean he’s not going to complain though.

All the windows have been thrown open, letting in what little breeze they can. Shuffling the pages of the open books gently and blowing Ty’s fringe away from his face allowing Kit to see his focused eyes and-

Kit looked back down at his book. Stop.

He needs to stop that.

He peered upwards to see if Ty noticed anything but all his attention was on the words in front of him. 

“Time for a break,” Kit announces knowing no more information is going to be entering his brain if he carries on.

“But-” He cuts off Ty's protests as he takes the book from his hands, bookmarking his place, and places it on the desk.

Now, Kit thinks, now they can relax. He leans back comfortably on the armchair and closes his eyes. Now that his sleep schedule is more or less fixed if you ignore his purposefully waking up at 3am to check on Ty, he has no excuses for day time naps. 

Well, excuses aren’t the problem; he has plenty of these, they just don’t often hold up to what Shadowhunter’s agree on what is an _acceptable_ excuse.

Kit can feel eyes on him and cracks his open to see Ty staring. Their eyes meet directly, Kit falling into the hurricane within, before Ty’s eyes drift across his face.

“Are we friends?” He questions.

Kit sits up. He, well, he hadn’t quite been expecting that. All his emotions began to rise within.

Hope that they can be friends again.

Worry that they don’t know where they stand.

Guilt knowing he caused this.

“Yes. Yes- I mean,” Kit swallowed. “I want to be friends again. To go back to how we were. If that’s- if that's what you also want?” Voice rising up into a question at the end.

Ty nodded. “Good.” 

Kit breathed, seeming to have settled that rather easily.

“I don’t understand why you haven’t explained your mission for Alec.” Kit avoided looking at Ty as he spoke. “I know that it’s confidential but you said that you want to be friends like before. You wouldn’t have kept something like this to yourself back then.”

And Ty was right.

He couldn’t argue with his logic. Kit would never have hidden anything no matter how top secret it was supposed to be. Instead of feeling anxious that he might need to figure out a lie all Kit could feel was-

Relief.

He was taken by surprise by the desire to tell Ty _everything_. Not because he was trapped into a corner. Not because he could help him, although Kit never doubted Ty’s skills. But because he genuinely wanted to.

He wanted to share his secret, part of his identity, with his friend. He wanted someone to talk to about it. He wanted to know what Ty’s thoughts on it would be. He simply wanted Ty to know regardless of whether it helped to mend their relationship or not. He trusted Ty. Wholeheartedly. He didn’t just want anyone to tell.

He wanted _Ty_.

So he explained. The full story. Starting with the history of the First Heir to his encounter with the Riders of Mannan. From living with Tessa and Jem to travelling over the world. From being an orphan to having found family and having to leave them.

He told it all. Ty was, understandably, surprised. No matter how great a detective Ty was, there was no way he could’ve worked this one out. People don’t tend to assume their ex-friends are the sole heir to both Faerie courts and have permission from the Consul to regularly lie about these facts.

He stresses how no one else can know. Not without endangering people.

When Kit finishes his long tale, he waits for Ty’s reaction.

“I’ll help with your research,” Ty informs him.

Really, he should know by now that Ty always finds a way to surprise him.

“You don’t have to. Tessa, Jem, Clary and Jace are already working on it. You need to focus on Livvy,” Kit presses, not wanting to prevent Ty in any way from helping his twin.

Ty shakes his head. “I can access resources at the Scholomance which they can’t. Besides, we haven’t found anything useful for Livvy for a long time. A break could be useful.”

Kit smiles wanly. “Only you could consider another research project as a break.”

Ty smiles at him then. A small shy smile. And it hits Kit that this is the first time he’s seen Ty smile since he’s arrived.

~~~

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with the letter ‘g’.”

“Garage?”

“Nope.”

“Ground?”

“That’s too general. No.”

“G.. g… girls?”

“No.”

“Gala?”

“Since when have we seen a gala?”

“I don’t know! Maybe you spied through someone's window?”

“I wouldn’t do that. Now, do you have any more guesses?”

Kit paused, trying to think of all the words he knew beginning with that letter and applying them to his surroundings. “Fine. I give up. What was it?”

“Guttering,” Ty proudly announces.

“How was I supposed to get that?” Kit exclaimed, ignoring the fact that he and Ty have walked over many different gutters tonight.

Kit has been on several patrols now but this is his first one with Ty. Just them together climbing over the roofs of LA bathed in moonlight.

“I thought it was perfectly obvious. Your turn.”

Kit had been the one to suggest it. It had been a rather slow night so far and he knows Ty is already scanning everything around them dutifully. Why not make a game out of it?

It wasn’t at all because Kit was worried they might not be able to have a normal conversation. Ty was never one for small talk and tonight wasn’t the time to talk about the Big Issues including but not limited to saving Livvy and protecting Kit’s identity. And when those were taken away, could they just chat like the friends they used to be? So nope it wasn’t at all because of that.

“I spy with my little eye something that begins with the letter ‘d’.” Kit scanned the street beneath them, hand going to the seraph blade at his waist.

“Drains?”

“Nope,” he looked back at Ty over his shoulder. “Demon.” And jumped off the roof.

He vaguely heard Ty shout his name as he rolled once he hit the ground and sprung up next to the aforementioned demon. Momentum from the movement followed his seraph blade as he stabbed the underside, ichor burning against his hands. 

He danced backwards out of the demon's reach as its eyes swivelled towards him, anger ignited from its injury flaring. This was no minor demon. Ty dropped to his side gracefully, wielding his blades in each hand. 

They fought the demon side by side. Despite very limited training time they- they worked well together. When Kit diverted the demon’s attention, Ty attacked. While Ty moved out of the way, Kit protected his back. They flowed seamlessly. Fighting, blocking, defending. Kit knew Ty’s next move and, thus, moved in turn. Ty seemed to react to Kit’s strategy before Kit himself knew what he was planning.

In no time at all, the demon had disappeared and they were wiping down their weapons.

“You really should have told me there was a demon straight away.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Kit nudged Ty with his elbow as he passed, continuing on with their patrol.

Invisible, they passed a group of mundanes spilling out of a bar which flooded the street with its pounding music.

Kit nodded his head to the words, recognising the song. Look, he wasn’t going to cut himself off from pop culture just because he got told he was a Shadowhunter. He looked back at Ty, a smile forming on his face.

He began to shimmy his shoulders and bounce on the heels of his feet. Ty looked at him curiously as if unsure whether he’s allowed to laugh.

Now, Kit knows he isn’t a good dancer. It’s a label he wears proudly. His dancing experience comes from swinging Mina around the living room and his limited time in clubs. Kit hasn’t taken ballroom lessons like he knows some Shadowhunters still do. But, really, as long as you're moving and having fun, what else is there to worry about?

His self dignity? Only Ty can see him and he kind of lost that a long time ago. Besides, the point of it is to make Ty laugh. He can’t ignore the bags under his eyes and tense limbs. Ty has barely slept and every hour awake he’s devoted to his personal mission. In Kit’s professional opinion, Ty needed a break.

And so, Kit pulled out the cheesiest dance moves he could think of (the air guitar was included multiple times). Eventually, Ty was laughing in earnest, shoulders loosening. Kit mimed throwing a lasso and pulled himself closer to Ty, slowly taking his hand, allowing him to pull away, and spinning him into a twirl. He reluctantly followed, shoulders tense but with a twinkle in his eye. 

Kit took both of his hands, checking if this is okay first, and spun them both around in a wide circle. Round and round. He threw back his head and laughed, the music making him giddy. They stumbled together, quite literally after having shaken their stiffness off, and slightly dizzy. Although that dizziness was likely limited to Kit while Ty’s balance remained untouched.

They were close now, hands having slid up each other's forearms and holding tight. Kit had to tip his head back, just ever so slightly, to meet Ty’s gaze. Their physical closeness made Kit swallow, wanting to both move away and pull Ty closer, yet remaining still.

Ty’s hair was now mussed up from the fighting and twirling, a slight flush across his cheeks, and eyes that met Kit dead on. The two boys stared at each other, both unwilling to let go.

Two boys in an empty street playing muffled music and invisible to the world.

Kit looked at Ty’s eyes and knew that he could trust him with everything. He never doubted it. He always knew that Ty would be completely honest. So, when Ty opened his mouth, Kit listened.

“You’ve improved a lot with your Shadowhunter training.”

Kit chuckled, trying to keep his smile small, unable to ignore the pride he felt at the compliment. At being able to finally stand side by side with Ty.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

They ended their patrol on a roof Ty picked out. Unaware and uncaring what the building was, Kit happily followed Ty’s footsteps.

Up.

Up.

Up they went.

They settled on the roof, feet swinging over the edge and shoulders pressed together. Safe in the knowledge that they would look out for each other.

And it was there the two boys watched the sunrise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes I used an English to Shakespearean translator to make the book title sound more oldy world don't attack me anyway if you were wondering the translation of that title is 'Read the History when the Little People were Separated'
> 
> Also, as a terrible dancer myself I am full on pushing the headcanon that Kit is also terrible


	4. The Past Tense

A few days have passed since he shared his secret with Ty. They researched together while Kit continued to train alone. Until one day, Ty asked and, well, Kit wasn’t one to pass on an opportunity to show off.

“You said you were the one that made the Riders’ horses disappear?” Ty questioned and _oh yeah_ Kit realised maybe he should have explained that.

He nodded. “I couldn’t control it then. I had no idea what I had done but Tessa has helped me train as much as she could. It’s been a lot of guesswork.”

“Kit,” Ty pressed, “trained _what_?”

He smiled and, really, who could sue him if he wanted a bit of a dramatic introduction. He double checked the library was empty before answering

“My magic.”

Ty’s eyes glittered waiting for a further explanation.

“It’s probably easier to show you.” It wasn’t. Kit just wanted to see Ty’s reaction.

Ty nodded, eyes wide, scanning Kit trying to decipher what exactly he was about to do. Suddenly, he was left staring at nothing. 

Kit, from the other side of the library, watched Ty blink. “Well?” Ty’s head swivelled quickly towards his voice. “What do you think?”

“You can teleport,” Ty confirmed, glancing at Kit to ensure he came to the correct conclusion.

Kit nodded, disappearing and reappearing instantly back in his seat. There were no flashes of lights, no big bangs. He just suddenly stopped existing in one space and began existing in another. “I can do it with other people too and objects. I think Tessa says there's a bit of telekinesis in there too.”

“How have you been training?” Ty questioned and Kit could just see the inner workings of his brain of what this meant and how Kit could use his powers. 

“Well, only when I’m on my own in my room. Mainly just building up my stamina and how many times I can ‘jump’ before I get too worn out. I haven’t trained with anyone else for a long time now but a handful of times at the start I used it while fighting Jem. But back then the main focus was accuracy and visualising the place either I am going or where I’m sending something.”

“I’ll help you train,” Ty offered easily, making Kit pause by surprise.

“I can really only do it in my room so no one sees. Be a bit difficult to explain away. Not really enough space to be training to fight,” he tried not to let his disappointment show.

“There’s other things you can improve I’m sure. How fast are you at reacting?” Ty questioned. “Like if someone was shooting at you?”

“Um, I’ve never tried.”

Ty nodded. “We can try that first,” he announced standing up.

“Now?” Kit asked, also standing up.

“Why not?” And how could Kit argue with that.

“Wait,” Kit stopped Ty as he began to walk towards the door. He held out his hand. “I can get us there faster. Do you trust me?”

Ty placed his hand in his.

“I trust you, Kit.”

Not even the paper on the desk rustled as they disappeared between one breath and the next. 

Kit raised his other hand up to steady Ty as they appeared in his bedroom. He knows just how motion sick it can make you before you’re used to it. Ty steadied himself easily enough and looked around at their surroundings in the minor disbelief the human brain exhibits when its eyes see something it previously believed to be impossible.

 _I should have cleaned_ Kit despairs as he kicks his suitcase closed. Ty notices the movement and glances around the mostly bare room save for the photos of Tessa, Jem and Mina on his desk along with photos and postcards from his travels. 

“You haven’t unpacked,” Ty states, clearly waiting for an explanation.

“Sorry,” Kit ducks his head, “habit I guess.” Before he looks up he feels the soft thump of something hitting him and sees a balled-up piece of paper at his feet. 

He looks up curiously at Ty who is now sitting on the edge of his bed ripping another page from the unused notebook. 

“You were supposed to dodge,” Ty informs him. “Would you rather I use a bow and arrows?”

“No! No, that’s fine! No need. I think I can handle some paper.”

Ty had a small smile on his face as he lifted the paper ready to aim. Kit took a breath, clearing his head and focusing on dipping his foot into the pool of power within him, slowly submerging himself in something that had terrified him at first. Until he realised that it was _him_ , it was all part of him. Just like his Shadowhunter identity. Even when he hadn’t known about it, all these parts came together to create Kit Herondale.

Kit teleports as Ty lets go to the other side of the room seeing the paper hit the wall. Before he can look at Ty, however, he’s already been hit again.

“Hey!” He exclaims.

“You need to speed up your time between jumps. Try to get it as little time as possible,” Ty suggested and Kit nodded. He knew it took him a second to steady himself in his new location and realised as Ty spoke how helpful it would be if he could simply blink in and out of different places continuously.

The next time Kit teleported, he was already on the move again, the second paper ball just skimming him as he moved. The time after that he missed it completely. Over and over again. Not spending longer than a split second in one place. Maintaining awareness of his surroundings and trying not to get disorientated or let his mind wander and accidentally send himself to a different country. Nope, that hasn’t happened before (shut up Tessa). 

And, honestly, Kit was having fun. His laughter reverted around the room from different points surrounding them both. He felt invincible. He felt-

“Oi!”

He got hit.

“You’re too easy to predict. I can tell where you’re going to teleport to.” Ty couldn’t hide the big grin on his face, a tad smug.

Kit furrowed his eyebrows and began darting sporadically from different points of the room. From the sliver of space between the wardrobe and the wall to standing on top of the desk.

 _Predict this_ , he smirked to himself before teleporting directly in front of Ty, mere centimetres away from his face and tackling him to the bed.

They’re laughing as they fall onto the soft covers. Until Kit’s laughter dies suddenly realising their position. He’s practically straddling Ty’s hips with his hands placed either side of his head holding himself up. Ty’s hands have gripped onto Kit’s shirt when he surprised him and now pulls them together. Ty’s gaze dips below Kit’s eyes and seem to be staring at his mouth.

The closeness makes every thought disappear right out of his head. 

The first thing he thinks is-

 _Oh fuck_.

He’s gotten carried away with himself. He should have been more careful. Kit desperately wants to keep his friendship with Ty and to do that he can’t be putting himself in this kind of situation. He knows he’s just hurting himself. And if he lets it show, it could ruin everything.

“Uh,” Kit so eloquently says, quickly pulling away and out of Ty’s grasp. Ty sits up looking confused and, possibly, a little hurt. “It’s dinner time soon isn’t it? We should really head down. Can’t be late for food. Most important meal of the day, well, second after breakfast I guess. If you skip breakfast though you can’t miss dinner.” 

He was rambling. Yes, Kit was well aware. No, that did not mean he was able to stop.

Ty studied him carefully before nodding and following him out of the room.

Kit breaths. Crisis averted. Right?

~~~

Kit can tell Dru notices something is up by the looks she gives at his unusual silence. He avoids her stare and mumbles something about being tired and having a nap after he finishes eating. He isn’t lying. Not completely. All that teleporting did wear him out.

And yes logically he knows he’s fucking up his barely-there sleep schedule but, hey, leave him alone. So, he won’t lie and pretend he’s surprised that he yet again wakes up at 3am.

Beginning to feel confined by the walls of his room, Kit quickly leaves. As he’s hurrying down the corridors he notices the witchlight coming out from under Ty’s door. He stops. He shouldn’t knock, right?

But worry for Ty always overtakes Kit‘s feelings for himself, even to protect himself from an awkward conversation. He knows Ty hasn’t been getting much sleep. Tossing and turning over Livvy. Kit really shouldn’t have piled his own problems on top.

So Kit knocks. Gently. Not to awake anyone else who certainly wouldn’t be happy to be woken at this time, especially those at the Institute who are likely to throw something in retaliation. Hopefully, nothing too sharp.

There's a second where he can hear Ty’s pacing on the soft carpet pause before he walks over and opens the door.

“You’re going to turn nocturnal soon you know.”

“Humans aren’t a nocturnal species. It leads to severe consequences on their health,” Ty replied dutifully. 

“Exactly, that's why you need to get sleep.”

Ty raised an eyebrow. “You’re also awake.”

Kit couldn’t argue with that. “So, um, can I come in?”

Ty widens the door allowing him in. He pads through and sits on the edge of Ty’s bed watching him close the door behind him and turn to face Kit. Ty’s room hasn’t changed too much over the years. Many more books have been added to his collection, all perfectly organised in the coded system no one but Ty will ever be able to crack. 

“Look,” Kit begins, “I don’t want things to be weird between us. I know what happened and I’m trying to move on, I promise I am. Just- Ty I really miss you.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen when you tried to stop me at Lake Lyn. I should have heard you out. I was confused why you suddenly changed your mind and I think I was hurt that you’d been lying to me all along,” Ty revealed.

“I didn’t mean to lie to you. I know I should have talked to you about it before. I’m really sorry I didn't, it was just- I was more scared that you would go ahead without me anyway and- and anything could’ve happened and no one would be there.” _No one would be there to hold Ty when all his grief crashed over him like a tsunami_ , Kit didn’t add.

Turned out he wasn’t there anyway. Not in the way that mattered. 

“You’re right.”

“What?”

“I would’ve gone ahead without you,” Ty says with a small smile.

Kit chuckles, mostly out of relief that, at least, if nothing else, Ty understands his reason.

“Is that it then? Is that the reason why you were upset with me and you left?” Ty looks at him with that look when he’s on the brink of a discovery. Kit realises then what Ty’s previous questions were about. That the whole time he was trying to figure out why Kit left. Looking through all the clues and lines of investigation.

Kit sighs, feeling his face heat up from the embarrassment of his past confession.

“You know why Ty.”

“No Kit,” Ty admits, “I don’t think I do.”

He looked out of the window to avoid Ty’s scrutinising gaze. “Because- because I told you I love you and you rejected me, well, not even that; you just ignored me. Which is fine! It’s totally fine! I can’t blame you for your feelings. I won’t hold it against you. It just hurt is all.” He paused, unsure how far his admission is going to go. “You were the first person I had ever said that to”

“Oh, I didn’t realise.”

Kit shrugged half-heartedly. “Yeah, well.”

He’s said the same words since then many times, never in the same context of course. The first time he said it to Tessa had been an accident. It had slipped out before he could catch it. He had frozen. Scared he’d messed everything up like he always did. But Tessa had just pulled him close in a tearful hug, the kind of hug only a mother can give.

“I guess,” Ty contemplates, “I’ve heard it from Livvy and Julian and my family my whole life. I’m sorry I didn’t realise it was different for you.”

Johnny Rook had never been one to say he loved his son. But still-

Kit laughed coldly. “Yeah, well, I didn’t exactly mean it the same way, did I?”

“You,” he paused, unsure, “you didn’t?”

“What? Ty, no I- I meant that I’m _in_ love with you. Like, like how Emma and Julian love each other.”

“Oh. I didn’t know.”

Kit wasn’t sure he had ever felt this embarrassed before, not even when he had fallen flat on his face in the middle of the Shadowmarket. Laying all his feelings out before Ty in the naked light. Ready for inspection.

But, it helped. It helped to soften the sharp hurt and confusion he had felt over the years since his confession. Whenever he thought of Ty as he tried and failed to get over his unrequited feelings. At least Ty hadn’t ignored him out of- out of pity. It appeared that he hadn’t realised the significance of Kit’s words at the time. Especially with his focus on literally raising Livvy from the dead.

Look, even Kit could agree he _might_ have been a tad too dramatic and rash as he left.

“You said that you _are_ in love with me.”

Kit laughed self-deprecatingly. “You really don’t need to keep repeating it.”

“Not,” Ty continued, “not that you _were_ in love with me.”

Kit realised with the emphasis on past versus present tense what he was getting at.

“Oh, right, yeah.” Guess the whole truth was coming out tonight. There was no place to hide. 

Kit stood up, rubbing his sweaty palms on his thighs. He took a step towards the door, his fight or flight instincts kicking in and decisively screaming at him to flee.

Ty follows him, placing a hand on his shoulder with a soft, pleading “Kit.”

And Kit had promised that he wouldn’t run away anymore.

He turns around to face Ty. Ty’s other hand comes up to gently brush some hair out of Kit’s face. The height difference suddenly became more prominent than ever as Kit raised his chin to find Ty staring directly at him. Kit fell further and further into those grey eyes as he waited, knowing whatever Ty says next will likely either destroy him or make him. No matter which one, Kit knows, as Ty looks into his eyes, it will be completely honest and so important that, to Kit, it feels like gospel. 

“I’m in love with you too.”

Kit’s brain becomes unable to process the words he is hearing, how they are possibly a reality but fully trusting Ty, knowing he wouldn’t lie.

“Are- are you sure?” Kit swallows nervously.

Ty nods assuredly, his hand now skirting down Kit’s cheek, feeling the texture of the barely-there stubble along his jaw.

“I’ve thought about it a lot. Livvy helped me realise how I was feeling, why I was missing you _that_ much and how it felt when you came back.” 

His eyes had drifted down to Kit’s mouth and Kit-

Well, Kit was just breathless.

“Can I kiss you?” Ty asked.

Kit moved then, crashing their lips together hoping the pressure will prove to him that he’s not dreaming. His hands found their place on Ty’s waist as he rose slightly on his toes to reach Ty’s lips. He pulled back slightly after that initial kiss to stare at Ty with open wonder and awe.

They don’t know who moves first after that but they’re moving together. Learning each other in a new setting, in a new light. Teaching and guiding. Very much enjoying the learning process.

Kit’s back hits the wall and he places his feet back firmly on the floor, now trailing his mouth along Ty’s jaw and down his neck. Ty’s fingers tangle themselves through Kit’s hair and grip onto the collar of his pyjama shirt, gently rubbing the soft cotton.

“This okay?” Kit breathes onto Ty’s neck.

His head is bobbing up and down immediately. “Yes,” he gasps out and Kit smirks at the sound, unable to believe he’s the cause of the quick rise and fall of Ty’s chest.

He continues kissing and sucking on Ty’s neck and collarbones. Eventually, Ty pulls him back up to meet his lips. They deepen the kiss, losing themselves in one another. All the feelings Kit spent so long trying to suppress and ignore being released, encompassing him. 

Seconds, minutes, hours, years later, they pull apart. Bright smiles and breathless laughs.

“Wow,” Ty said, causing Kit’s grin to widen as he wraps his arms around him, resting his head on his chest. He can feel his own heart picking up to match Ty’s heartbeats. “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

Kit pulled back, his eyebrows raising.

“Not like that,” and was Ty blushing? “I think I might sleep better with you here.” 

Of course Kit agreed.

They climbed into Ty’s bed, Kit watched him reach over to turn the lights off before settling back down. They lay there facing each other. Kit watches Ty’s eyes as they dart over his face as if to commit it to memory.

In the dark Kit can only just barely make out Ty’s features. The monochromatic sight blurs the scene in front of him in contrast to the sharp emotions that will always be attached to this night. Ty is washed in a grey scale, lighting the high points and darkening the dips of his face. His hair is fanned across the pillow he presses his face into. Their breaths in the space between them are the only sounds filling the room. Kit watches Ty’s eyes start to close.

“Turn around,” he whispers, shuffling closer and placing his arm around Ty slowly oh so slowly. “This okay?” He checks and receives a sleepy affirmative hum in response.

Kit smiles as he presses a quick kiss to the back of Ty’s neck before falling into the comforting arms of sleep.

~~~

Kit wakes up with his face pressed into Ty’s shoulder and is flooded with all the memories of last night. He raises his head, blinking his eyes open against the bright light.

“Hey,” Ty rasps next to him.

“Hey,” he replies. Their soft words of the morning break the silence of the night before.

Ty leans in and slides his lips against Kit’s, slotting them together, and Kit has never felt the warmth curling up his body like this before. Ty pulls away far too quickly in Kit’s opinion with him murmuring protests.

“We need to get up,” Ty insists, getting out of bed.

“Need is a very strong word,” Kit argues, “I don’t remember reading any laws against staying in bed in the Shadowhunter’s Codex.”

Ty shakes his head with a smile as he goes to collect his clothes for the day to begin getting ready. Kit, however, decides to take the moment to appreciate how Ty’s hair has been flattened to his head on one side and his sleep shirt is slipping off his one shoulder. That is until he realises Kit really should get up too before the whole Institute is awake and someone finds him here.

He pauses in his movements to get up. What does Ty think about that? Would it be such a bad thing if someone found them?

Well, as long as it wasn’t Julian whose shovel talk could likely end with the use of an actual shovel.

Kit sits up in Ty’s bed and stretches his arms out. He catches Ty glancing at him from the corner of his eye which does funny things to his stomach. (Funny things includes but is not limited to a bunch of butterflies being released and told to go wild)

“Guess I need to sneak back to my room, huh?” Kit lightly jokes to hide the real question he’s asking.

“Could,” Ty begins, shuffling on his feet, “would it be okay if we didn’t tell anyone about… this yet?”

“Yeah, of course,” Kit assures him and watches his relieved smile.

Kit was always going to respect whichever decision Ty came to. That didn’t mean he wasn’t internally freaking out as he hurried back to his room.

Kit doesn’t blame Ty for not wanting his family to know what was going on between them, whatever that was. He knows they are still angry at Kit for leaving him and the hurt he caused. He doesn’t expect them to trust him after such a short time back especially as he will be leaving again in almost five weeks.

Shit.

 _Ty’s right_ , Kit thinks, _no surprise there_. He can’t be here long, Ty knows better than anyone else. Of course, nothing long term could be possible. Kit would never force Ty to be dragged around by him, waiting on infrequent messages, never knowing where he actually is. 

Kit would never put Ty in danger. Not because of him.

He didn’t even know if he could put a label to them. Which is fine. But, Kit muses, he can’t help but think they’ve done things in a rather backwards order.

At breakfast, he glances at Ty briefly, finding him looking back, and turns away quickly, sure that last night is written all over his face. Kit talks to Dru next to him and stumbles mid-sentence as he feels Ty’s foot brush against his under the table.

 _I see how it is_. Kit hooks his foot around Ty’s ankle and watches his slight blush out of the corner of his eye, feeling his heart skip a beat.

If playing footsie under the table was this difficult, how on earth was Kit supposed to cope during training together.

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? Let Kit have a normal sleep schedule? It's more unlikely than you'd think


	5. My Favourite Sunset is the One We Share Together

Kit looks up as Ty puts yet another book down and exchanges a look with Livvy who’s with them tonight.

“Nothing in that one either?” Kit asks. He takes his feet off of Ty’s lap where he’s sat at the other end of the sofa.

Ty only shakes his head, staring at the empty table in front of them that no longer contains any other books for them to study. Kit takes a deep breath. He knows he wanted to bring this up before but didn’t know how. Time is running out. He has no choice.

“Ty,” he began, gaining his attention before continuing. “I know this isn’t the ideal situation but- have you considered if we can’t keep Livvy _here_ maybe trying to send her back to where she was before.”

Ty’s eyes widened and quickly turned to Livvy who had drawn closer to him, eyes darting over his twin’s face.

“Kit might be right,” Livvy admitted after a heavy couple of seconds. Before Ty could say anything, she continued. “I’d rather be where I was before than _there_.” And while Kit hadn’t heard Livvy talk of that other place she is forced to, that void, he can hear all the anger and disgust and _fear_ in the single word.

“No- no,” Ty repeats firmly. “I can fix this. There must be another book we can find, something else I can-”

Kit slowly pulls him into a hug, resting his chin on top of his head. “Ty, you can’t stop death. However much work you do and however much you want it- it just isn’t possible.” 

“I’m not meant to be here Ty-Ty. I can feel it.”

Ty pulls away from Kit, allowing him to see the tears streaking down his face.

“You want me to try to send you back?” His voice shakes just ever so slightly.

Livvy sadly nods. “I’ve loved being here with you Ty but it’s not easy watching you and everyone else get older and live your lives while I’m stuck. I don’t want to be holding you back in anyway.”

Ty takes a shaky breath. “I don’t know how I’m meant to live without you. I can’t. I can’t do this.”

Livvy hugs Ty then and he clings onto her. Kit knows he’s seeking the comfort of her presence but he also knows that something will feel just off as if she is only just solid. However hard Ty holds on, Livvy slips through his fingers like sand.

“You can Ty. You’ve always been able to. You have other people here who care about you.” Even Kit can’t ignore the meaningful look she gives him over Ty’s shoulder. “I’m not saying that you’ll replace me or anything. But I’m not your only reason to live. There’s a whole world out there for you.”

“It feels like I’m losing you all over again,” Ty’s quiet, broken voice admits and Kit wonders if he should leave, averting his eyes from the scene in front of him. He realises that Ty has never properly grieved for Livvy. He was so focused and sure that he could bring her back that while the rest of the family struggled to come to terms with that, he didn’t. While everyone was healing and processing their grief, Livvy was here with her half-presence. 

But now, there was nothing to protect Ty from the pain that would come.

Kit could only hope that he can be there to hold him through it all.

~~~

“Where are we going?”

“I told you it’s a surprise!” Kit glances over at Ty in the passenger seat. It had taken a fair amount of convincing for Julian to lend Kit his car. Kit’s main argument was that Ty has been locked away in the Scholomance’s libraries for far too long and, while Julian was still suspicious of him, it was clear he approved of Kit attempting to repair their friendship. Julian just didn’t know how far that had already gone.

 _It’s not a date_ , Kit reminded himself.

Right?

Ty gave him a curious look as he parked the car and climbed out. He reached into the boot to pull out the bag he had packed prior to seeking Ty out.

“I didn’t see you bring that,” Ty noted.

“Ah, well you see, I am a master of illusion,” Kit promptly informed him.

He guided them towards the beginning of the hiking trail. It was still light out, Kit had tried to time this as best as he could. He glanced at Ty next to him, worried he was bored, but he seemed to be happily walking. Between watching his feet as not to trip and the birds flying into the trees next to them, Ty seemed good.

They didn’t talk much on the way up except for Ty pointing out the lizards they saw and explaining their eating habits. Kit found it relaxing. This comfortable silence between them. Simply enjoying each other’s presence with no pressure on either of them to say a certain thing or act a certain way.

The landscape around them reminded Kit of the countryside in Devon. It looked very different, granted. But that _feeling_. Of getting away from civilisation for a little bit, away from the noise and the lights. That peacefulness you only find when you’re walking through grass, shaded by trees, listening to the chirping of birds, the feel of the wind against your skin when you’re no longer sheltered by buildings.

When they reached the top they stopped for a bit, admiring the view. By the time Ty had turned around, Kit had pulled out the blanket he had packed and laid it on the least stony area he could find. Ty sat next to him and watched him pull out the various snacks he had brought.

“Why are you…” Ty trailed off as if he couldn’t quite work out what to call it either.

Kit just shrugged, scared to label anything in case Ty changes his mind. “Just felt like it.”

Kit really deserved a pat on the back for his timing as the sun began to disappear behind the hills and sprawling city in front of them. 

Purples and yellows and oranges all mingled together. Trying to hold onto the day before night replaced them and they faded away. 

Kit had seen many sunsets in his lifetime, it came with the territory of habitually staying up far too late, he has seen them in many different places, from towns to skyscrapers to mountains to deserts.

Yet, none were as beautiful as the sunset he was watching now with Ty by his side.

When they laid back, shoulders touching, staring at the stars, Kit pointed out the constellations Jem had taught him. Tessa had convinced him it was important to know just in case he accidentally teleported himself and got lost. It turned out that knowledge was mainly used when he was sitting on the roof of a far away Institute measuring just how far away he was from his family and friends.

Tonight, however, he mainly just wanted to impress Ty.

“And those ones we now call Vega and Altair,” Kit traced the constellations with his finger, “but in Japanese mythology Vega was a celestial goddess who fell in love with the mortal Altair. She promised that he would join her in the heavens but when her father found out he was so angry he placed them both in the stars but separated them in the heavens. They could only meet one night a year.”

He turned his head to Ty to find him already watching him. Kit was glad the darkness covered his blush as he realised the tale of separation, reunion and love he had just told.

Ty crossed the short space that separated them and placed a gentle kiss on Kit’s lips. Ty rose up on his elbow, pressing him into the ground. When Kit’s smile became too much to hide, Ty pulled back slightly, allowing Kit the view of him as he hovered just above. His fringe hung in his face and the stars-

The stars surrounded the sun.

Kit wrapped his arms around Ty’s neck and pulled him back down.

~~~

“I want to get drunk.”

“Same.”

Kit sat up with a dramatic gasp from where he had been sprawled out on the sofa. “Drusilla Blackthorn, when have you been drunk before?”

She ducked her head mumbling something about the Academy.

“Right, then, who’s up for a sleepover tonight with alcohol?” Kit asked, knowing none of them were on patrol tonight.

Ty looks up from his book then. “Kit, you can’t encourage Dru to drink. She’s 16.”

“Exactly, Ty! Way more sensible to drink with responsible adults than whoever her delinquent Academy friends are.”

“They aren’t delinquents-”

“Kit, you aren’t a responsible adult,” Ty said with a faint smile.

“Of course not, that’s where you come in Ty.”

Ty hesitated then. “I’m not sure I want to drink.”

“Fair enough.” Kit shrugged. “More for us.” He paused, watching Ty, before continuing softly. “You really don’t have to join us if you don’t want to. Drunk or sober. No pressure.”

There were a few seconds while he thought it over. “I’ll hang out with you guys. Someone has to be the responsible one,” he finished with a smirk.

Kit leant his head on the back of the sofa to look at Dru behind him, currently upside down from his perspective. “Can you believe I’m not trusted with your wellbeing?”

Dru rose her eyebrows at him. “Kit, I don’t trust you with your own wellbeing.”

“Attacked! Attacked by my own friends.”

“Are we wrong, though?”

“I mean, no. But-”

Kit was drunk.

He was proud to say that Dru got drunk much quicker than he did but, considering he was the one who had had more experience, he probably shouldn’t hold it against her that much. He definitely won’t bring it up.

“You-you, Dru, are such a lightweight.”

Okay, maybe he will.

“Fuck off,” Dru drawled from where she hanged over the edge of her bed, eyes glaring at where Kit was sprawled across her floor. Kit’s head was near Ty’s legs where he sat against the wall, headphones rested on his shoulders and hands fiddling with one of Julian’s toys on his lap.

Kit had to keep reminding himself that Ty didn’t want his family to know about- whatever it was that was happening between him. So, despite the desire to reach out and _touch_ Ty, he stays where he is.

“Where did you even get the alcohol from?” Ty questioned.

“I was glamoured, don’t worry.”

“You stole it?” 

“Well, yeah. I couldn’t find where Julian hides his stash.” Kit was vaguely aware that he was saying more than he probably should but couldn’t find the self-restraint within to stop himself. “In my defence, I forgot the drinking age is higher here and the shopkeeper was really rude to me when I showed my ID.”

Dru laughed at him. Loudly.

“It’s 18 in England, right?” Ty asked.

Kit nodded, ignoring the fact that he hasn’t actually been in England for, well, longer than he likes to remember. Instead, his mind tunnels in on his memories of his family.

“You guys should’ve seen Tessa and Jem after a few glasses of wine,” he told them, thinking about how the pair would share stories of when they were younger. They couldn’t always get the words out through their laughter, sometimes laughing till they cried. And other times, the times when they would tell him stories about Will, they would laugh to hide their tears. Kit had committed every word they told him to memory. “Awful they were, just awful,” he lied, grinning.

When he tilted his head, he noticed Ty watching him with _something_ in his eye that Kit was too drunk to work out. But, then again, he probably wouldn’t have been able to even if he was sober.

“I’m starving,” Dru complained.

“If I don’t have food right now I’m going to die,” Kit helpfully added.

Ty started to stand up and all Kit could think was _no, don’t leave_. “I can go see what’s in the kitchen-”

“No!” Kit stopped him. He paused. Unsure what to say next. Until his stomach informed him of a _brilliant_ idea. “We should order food.”

“Kit, we’re Shadowhunters. We don’t just order takeaways,” Dru tried to remind him. Kit looked up at Ty and knew he would be happy to bend the rules just a bit.

“Oh, Dru. Let me introduce you to this wonderful invention called UberEats.”

A little while later, Kit got a text to let them know their driver was nearby. (He had ordered cheesy chips, obviously, he wasn’t a heathen) 

Kit stood up, far, far too quickly. He stumbled while he waited for the world to right itself. _Hurry up world_. And felt a firm grip on his arm. Looking down, he followed the hand, up the arm, and to its owner.

Ty was watching him worriedly so Kit gave him a thumbs up in response. Ty continued staring and Kit suddenly remembered that a thumbs up is very much under the category of _uncool things for teenagers to do_.

“I can’t get up,” Dru complained. “Bring my food to me.”

“Alright, your highness,” Kit assured her with a laugh and a bow.

He happily followed Ty out of the Institute, assuming that he would make sure they avoided everyone else, Kit just trailed after him.

Once outside, Kit felt the biting cold of the wind against his flushed cheeks. He bounced on the balls of his feet, suddenly feeling a burst of energy to just _go_ somewhere. (As long as Ty came with him)

However, all this movement just served to make him stumble again. Ty looked over sharply but Kit quickly steadied himself.

“I’m fine. I’m _fine_. I’ve got this. I’m _so_ good at standing up. I’ll prove it to you, watch me do a flip.”

“Kit, no-”

Kit did a flip.

And he stuck the landing.

Before Ty could be impressed by his standing up abilities, because he must be _so_ impressed right now (right?), their food arrived.

Later on, food long eaten and bottles emptied, Kit and Ty sat with their backs against the wall.

“Think about it, Ty. What if it was all a lie?”

“I really don’t think-”

“Like, seriously, do you trust the government? Because I don’t. Mundane or Shadowhunter.”

“Kit,” Ty spoke slowly as if he couldn’t believe he had to say this, “the moon landing was not faked.”

“Hey, you never know- Dru? Dru, what do you think.”

There was no response.

Ty got up and Kit immediately missed his presence. “She’s asleep,” he whispered and reached out his hands to Kit, pulling him up before he could make any stubborn refusals for the help.

He pulls him along the corridor and into his room. He’s slept in Ty’s room for the past week now, each morning sneaking back into his own.

Kit sat down heavily on the bed, watching Ty go about the room, following his nighttime routine that Kit has now memorised.

“I’m tired.”

Ty looked up at him. “Do you want to put your pyjamas on?”

Kit shook his head. “I just want to sleep.”

Ty watched him a moment longer, as he remained sitting up, and stepped closer. As he did so, the streak of moonlight that seeped through the not-quite fully closed curtains fell onto his face and Kit’s breath was taken away.

“Your eyes are really pretty.”

Ty froze. “What?”

“I said, your eyes are really pretty.” When Ty didn’t say anything else, Kit worried he didn’t understand what he meant. “I mean, like, I don’t get why people don’t give grey eyes more credit. It’s like the colour of silver and who doesn’t like silver. Well, maybe Olympians don’t but I’m not an Olympian. No way. I really like grey but only the shade that’s in your eyes. It’s like- wow.” 

Kit trailed off having forgotten what the start of his point was.

Ty stepped closer and gently took Kit’s hand in his. _Was Ty blushing?_

“Go to sleep, Kit,” Ty whispered to him.

Kit continued staring at him. His glowing silhouette against the darkness of the night. A darkness that wasn’t frightening, in any sense, but comforting. The pale pink of Ty’s blush, spread across his nose, the only colour against the monochrome scene.

Kit wanted to commit this image to memory. He didn’t want to forget a single detail of how beautiful Ty looked right now. 

In the morning, however, Kit couldn’t remember a single thing.

~~~

It was their designated day off and Kit was forcing Ty to spend it with him doing as little as possible.

And that, of course, meant binging netflix in bed. Kit had finally convinced Ty to watch the Sherlock TV show and, hey, if Ty can put up with Kit’s theories about their relationship, then he can listen to Ty tell him very firmly how inaccurate it is to the original books.

What would a lazy day watching telly be without popcorn? Even though Kit had only ever known microwavable bags of popcorn growing up, Ty insisted that they needed to do it the way Julian had taught, over the stovetop. 

It took them longer to set up than it should have. Namely due to Kit getting Ty to play his music while he slid through the kitchen in his socks. Laughing, he pulled Ty away from where he was meant to be getting the pot ready and urged him to join in with his really terrible dancing.

The Institute is empty, Kit’s pretty sure, so he spins Ty around and sings at the top of his lungs. He’s reminded of Sunday mornings back at Devon. Jem making breakfast as Tessa chooses her favourite radio station. Kit would pick up Mina, at all the stages of growing Kit was lucky enough to be present for, and spin her around. Tessa would try to admonish him but her smile showed otherwise.

Kit usually laughed, gently bouncing Mina, and pretended to cover her eyes while Tessa pulled Jem into a slower dance, humming a tune not of this era.

Now though, even Livvy appeared in the kitchen and joined Kit’s rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody while Ty watched, eyes twinkling. 

When Ty returns to the food they were planning, he gives Kit strict instructions to follow while they pop and leaves the room before the sharp noises begin. Livvy stays chatting with Kit and tells him where all the best kept treats are hidden in the kitchen.

Once the popcorn has finished, Kit pulls down the biggest bowl he can find out of the cupboard, they really underestimated just how much popcorn they had made.

“Can you go grab Ty?” Kit asks and Livvy disappears out of the kitchen. 

He doesn’t hear Ty enter and is only made aware of his presence when he presses a quick kiss to his cheek. Trying to hide any signs of a blush, Kit makes some grand gestures to the array of food before them, guaranteed to force them to take a trip to the dentist.

Wait, do Shadowhunters have dentists?

Kit does note, however, that Livvy didn’t make it back into the kitchen but didn’t bring it up, not wanting to remind Ty of her ticking clock.

Ty begins to gather their goodies and makes to leave.

“Wait.”

Kit, one arm also full, places a hand on Ty’s. “Can I?”

With the shared burden of his secret, he’s been able to practice teleporting others, something he has only been able to practice between moves when he was granted the gift of spending a few hours with Tessa, Jem and Mina. With Ty’s full permission of course. 

To Kit, a proper lazy day meant as little walking as possible too.

Ty nods, eyes just over his shoulder, and Kit holds onto his hand tighter. He takes a breath, reaching into the well of power he holds within, and teleports them to Ty’s room. 

He doesn’t need to hold onto the other person when he teleports them but he knows it helps others to stay grounded as everything they know becomes disoriented in a way their body cannot process.

Ty, with his balance and stability, rarely has a problem with it.

Hey, maybe Kit just likes to hold Ty’s hand.

They settle onto the bed, Kit’s laptop propped between them. A light blanket is thrown over them as an open window provides relief to the LA summer heat. Kit eats half the popcorn within ten minutes of the first episode and resolutely pushes it onto Ty’s other side. All this means really is that he has to reach behind Ty to take a handful.

And if Ty then rests his head on Kit’s shoulder, well, he’s just going to have to keep his arm there.

Ty’s fingers wrap around the pipecleaners Julian had given him between them, focus zoned into the screen in front of them.

Kit finds himself ignoring the events and revelations occurring before him in favour of appreciating the peaceful scene he’s found himself in.

He blocks the knowledge that he is officially over half way through his stay here and watches as Sherlock solves the mystery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ty: literally says I love you, Kit: hmm does he like me or like like me
> 
> Ok so I know it starts off sad but the rest is just pure fluff before the big events start to happen


	6. In Our Room Where We Don’t Need Words

“Years of practice and my runes still aren’t as good as yours,” Kit mourns as he finishes up on Ty’s last rune, looking between them and the ones Ty had done for him just before, all smooth sharp lines.

“I don’t mind,” Ty smiled, putting his gear jacket back on. Hey, if it was an excuse for Ty to always do his runes, he’ll take it.

Julian had a tip-off about a young gang of vampires doing some kind of illegal stuff that they needed to sort. Maybe Kit should pay more attention when they’re briefed. Him, Ty, Julian, Emma, Mark and Cristina were all preparing to go storm the big warehouse they’re apparently camped in.

Once they got nearby, Julian pulled them all together down an alleyway, informing them who was splitting off into which direction to search the building. Before they could leave, however, a dark shadow appeared overhead and looking up revealed more demons than Kit thinks he has ever seen in one place.

“It’s a set up!” Emma shouted before the demons were on them.

Ty and Kit ended up facing one entrance to the alleyway with Mark and Cristina fighting against the onslaught of demons from the other side. Julian and Emma stood between, focused on the demons raining down from above.

They were completely surrounded. Kit quickly realised that they were only minor demons, easy to deal with in all cases, but with the seemingly never-ending flow of them, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

Ty shot arrows at the demons flying towards them while Kit used his daggers on those closest. He stuck by Ty’s side, protecting him as Ty tried to thin their numbers, occasionally sending an arrow behind them to where the others were fighting.

Time becomes a meaningless concept as they fought on. Time became every stab and dodge. Time became every demon that fell. Time became the next demon ready to replace the empty spot.

On and on.

Demon after demon came after them.

All of the Shadowhunters worked efficiently to cut down the monsters before them, yet, even with their stamina runes, they were no match for the sheer number. They were outnumbered by the hundreds.

Kit doesn’t know who managed to coordinate so many demons in this attack but as soon as they got out of this they would find them.

“Cristina’s hurt,” Ty updates him, arrows aimed high while Kit deals closer to the ground. “It doesn’t look like they have enough time between demons to put an iratze on.”

“Shit.” Kit so eloquently puts it.

“I’m trying to cover,” Ty shot off a volley of arrows. “But Julian and Emma-”

Kit risked a glance over and was startled when he couldn’t see the pair at all through the dark swirling tornado of demons around them. They are the best fighters around, everyone knows, but even they can only last so long in the face of an unending stream of enemies.

And Kit knows what he has to do.

There will be consequences to worry about afterwards but they are fighting an uphill battle and Kit needs to protect his- his friends. Because, yes, these people are his friends. The Blackthorns were the first people to really take him in. They showed him what a real family was. They taught him what made a good Shadowhunter: not physical strength but kindness, protecting those in need of help, stopping injustice.

Julian showed him the faults of his own father and Kit knows he is his role model if he ever becomes a father himself in the future.

Emma taught him to put others first and to always fight for what is right.

Witnessing Mark’s reunion with his family taught Kit that nothing is ever truly broken forever.

Dru showed him that family doesn’t have to be blood.

And Ty-

Ty taught him everything.

“Ty,” he calls over the noise of battle and through his headphones, “I’m going to teleport to Cristina and Mark.” Giving him a heads up before he vanished, knowing Ty could hold down the fort on his own for a little while.

He never looks away from where he’s aiming but Kit knows if his hands weren’t preoccupied they’d be fluttering.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.” Kit leaves no space for uncertainty as he teleports.

He appears near Mark and Cristina who are fighting desperately and brutally despite the blood flowing from Cristina’s wound. Acting on instinct from his hours spent training and thinking up battle tactics even when he’s been unable to act them out, a huge wooden table appears in front of Kit, crushing the demons beneath it. 

Kit recognises it as the Institute’s dining table but doesn’t linger on the thought too long before he’s turned the table on its side and a slight movement of his muscles has the table pushing outwards, away from him and pinning demons against the brick wall.

 _Huh_ , Kit thinks, _Tessa did mention some kind of telekinesis_.

The table clears a direct pathway to Mark and Cristina allowing Kit to join their fight. He ignores the confusion in their eyes in favour of the relief as Mark and Kit fight demons back to back with Cristina in the centre applying a quick healing rune.

Eventually, the three of them are once again able to see glimpses of the blue sky through the flapping wings. Kit throws his daggers at demons and teleports them back to his hand, dripping in ichor. A part of his mind is also focused on continually teleporting his spare knife into the demons themselves. It's gruesome but does the job.

He moves away from Mark and Cristina’s tight circle, not wanting to startle them when he jumps and leave a gap in their defences, when he sees a demon aiming for Ty that he has yet to notice. Moving before his mind catches up, Kit reappears next to Ty, dagger gutting a demon in one hand while his other stretches out towards the one barreling forwards, an umbrella teleporting into his hand skewering the demon. He opens it up and swings, pushing back a few more demons, before throwing it and pinning another one to the wall.

Kit quickly refills Ty’s arrow supply, noticing that some of the arrows seem to be from the training room, and the two fight together once more. Kit turns his attention to the demons coming from their entrance into the alleyway. The mass of wings and teeth funnel through the narrow opening and Kit walks directly into the heart. 

He can almost feel his magic rumbling within him as it teleports several wooden chairs to their battle. They hover in the air for a second before falling hard and fast, each one hitting a demon with direct precision every time, legs piercing. As Kit walks past, he picks them up again, hurling them at the swarm, knocking the demons back as they scatter.

Both entrances have cleared up considerably and, after sending a questioning look to Ty who returns it with a decisive nod, Kit turns his attention to the storm at the centre of the alleyway encompassing Julian and Emma.

Kit teleports himself into the eye of the tornado where the pair are fighting back to back, each knowing the other’s move before they even know themselves. They look exhausted but their hold on their weapons never lessens. Kit stabs a few demons that notice his appearance.

“What the fu-” Emma exclaims mid-way through a swing of Cortana which cuts a demon clean in half.

“I’ll explain later just don’t freak out.”

“Freak out about what?” Julian asks with his back to Kit, only having heard him appear.

Kit begins to teleport around the pair and within the demons surrounding them. Thankful for his practice with Ty, he doesn’t stay in one spot for longer than it takes to impale an unsuspecting demon.

“That.” Kit thinks he hears Emma inform Julian while he continues moving back and forth, attacking from different angles. Sometimes returning to Ty or to Mark and Cristina for a moment.

He doesn’t know how long it takes or how many jumps he does. All Kit knows is the ichor burning his hands and the bone-deep weariness trying to take its hold.

Eventually, what feels like hours later, the demons trickle away to nothing. The Shadowhunters stare at each other, breathing hard, and Ty shoots one last arrow at a demon flying away. Without waiting to see the demon fall, Ty hurries over to Kit who is more drained from his magic than he has ever been before and at this point is mostly being held up by the wall.

“Are you going to explain now?” Julian asks.

“Is that the dining table?” Emma interrupts.

Everyone’s heads turn towards said table, currently bearing battle scars in the form of various claw marks and- is that a bite mark?

“Ah shit, yeah, sorry I’ll put them back let me just-” Kit focuses slowly on each object as they disappear one by one, leaving the tattered umbrella behind.

Ty wraps an arm around Kit’s waist, supporting most of his weight by this point.

“Where did the umbrella come from?” Ty questions.

Kit can only shrug. “Might have been one of the houses we passed. Don’t think they’ll want it back with the state it’s in.”

“Ty knows?” Julian brings Kit’s attention back, he can already see the parental concern for Ty in his eyes. 

“Kit can explain when we’re all back at the Institute.” Ty was always best at making logical plans, especially when everyone else is exhausted and likely in shock.

Kit nods along, agreeing to anything that involved him sitting down very shortly.

They slowly make their way back, stamina runes long gone. Kit leans heavily on Ty, uncaring whether his family sees just how close they are and begin to draw their own conclusions. Ty initiated it and, honestly, without him Kit wouldn’t be standing right now.

Ty mumbled a quiet thanks to which Kit looks at him confused. “What for?”

“You didn’t have to use your powers and I know you don’t want anyone to know so… thank you.” Ty was staring ahead to where the rest of his family are walking, all in one piece. 

_Oh_ , Kit realised and slowly nodded. The rest of the walk was silent and they trudged through the Institute’s entrance with a heavy weight on them.

Dru appears at the top of the stairway, looking at the group below worriedly, clearly seeing the mission didn’t go well, but before she could open her mouth, Helen burst through the kitchen doors.

“Are you all okay?” Once she realises there are no serious injuries she adds on, “who moved the table? Did you do it before you left?”

“Oh, where is it now?” Kit asks Helen.

“In the library.”

“Whoops, turns out my aim isn’t as good when I’m tired, sorry.”

They all turn to him with varying looks of confusion and just plain acceptance that this is a thing that exists now.

“We better all go sit at the table in the library then.” Julian leads the way. 

Kit cringes at the battered table, really hoping the Institute can cover it, he doesn’t think he can afford to replace it. He collapses into the first chair he grabs, Ty sitting next to him. 

He looks up at the tired faces all watching him, waiting for an explanation. However much Kit longs to just go to bed, hopefully to cuddle with Ty, he knows he needs to do this. He distinctly remembers the relief, the weight lifted when a burden is shared, he felt after telling Ty and hopes that this will be the same.

“So,” he begins, “how much do you know about the First Heir?”

~~~

Kit gratefully rested his head on the dip between Ty’s chest and shoulder, Ty’s arm wrapped around him. Kit was too exhausted to even raise his head, just happy to be holding onto Ty after the uncertainty of the fight earlier.

Before any questions could be asked once Kit finished his tale, Ty announced that they were going to sleep and that everyone else should do the same. Some reluctant, some eager, they agreed and Kit answered the curious gazes with a promise to answer all of their questions tomorrow.

Kit and Ty didn’t speak.

They didn’t need to.

He knows there is plenty that will need to be addressed and somewhere under the heavy layer of tiredness is a worry of what tomorrow will bring. Allowing his feelings to be muted by his body’s needs, Kit lets himself be dragged into a deep, dreamless sleep.

He wakes on his side, facing Ty who is already awake and watching him.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Ty brings a hand up between them to pat Kit’s curls which were stuck up in various directions, attempting to bring some order to the chaos. Kit feels himself relaxing from its comfort, sinking even further into the pillow, stopping himself by leaning forward to close the gap and press a quick kiss to Ty’s lips.

“I think we should tell everyone about us today.”

Kit blinked. The sleepy fog wrapped around his brain was pushed to the side as Ty’s words sunk in. All the uncertainty and overthinking Kit has done about- _this_. This fragile, precious thing between them. All crashing back on him.

He swallowed. “Tell them… what exactly.”

“That we’re boyfriends,” Ty stated matter of factly in the way Kit loves and that word, that word takes Kit’s breath away just for a moment. Ty waits for a response and, when none comes, an edge creeps into his voice. “Do you not want me to tell them?”

“No! No I do. I just- they worry about you, of course they do, and now they know the whole situation as well its… I don’t want to hurt you when I have to leave again.”

“You’re not leaving.”

“Ty, you know I have to. For everyone’s safety.” He rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. “Hell, I won’t even be able to tell you where I am, what time zone I’m in, none of it. I want to be able to promise you that I will never leave you again, not like the last time, but I can’t because- because I care about you too much to ever put you in danger because of me.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can but I could never allow myself to place you or your family at any kind of risk.”

“We’re going to find a solution Kit.” Kit turned his head to look at Ty. Ty who was making direct eye contact and Kit absorbed every detail, knowing Ty was doing it for his benefit to show his complete sincerity. “You’ve got me helping you now and I’ll look in the library at the Scholomance when I go back while you’re at another Institute. There will be new resources you haven’t had access to before. And there’s more people now. You’ve been doing everything on your own but, Kit, you are not alone anymore. Trust me. I can do this.”

Kit shouldn’t have been surprised that Ty had been coming up with this plan.

“It’s not that I don’t doubt your intelligence and determination but I just genuinely don’t know whether any of this is possible. You shouldn’t waste your time on an impossible task.”

Ty reached out and took hold of his hand between them, thumb rubbing the rough texture of Kit’s palm. “It would never be a waste of time. You would never be a waste of time, Christopher. Let me do this. I know I can do this.”

And, well, Kit has never been able to deny Ty of anything, has he?

Trying to ignore the pit of anxiety in his stomach, he nodded.

Ty smiled and kissed him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

They later went down to breakfast to discover the table had been moved back to its original place, minus one chair and with the addition of a good few scratches, Kit noted guiltily. Everyone was already there and looked up at their entrance, eyes almost simultaneously dropping down to where they held hands, fingers interlinked.

Before anyone could open their mouths, Ty announced, “Me and Kit are dating,” and pulled Kit over to their usual seats.

Kit glanced up at everyone’s reactions; Dru’s smug knowing look; Mark’s clear surprise; Emma’s poorly hidden smile. Julian turned around from the eggs he was whisking. Kit could plainly see the expected parental concern in his eyes that held until he looked at Ty. Kit knows Julian has seen Ty’s smile and laughter around Kit and that Julian would never stand in the way of Ty’s happiness.

As everyone eats, Julian tells them all to meet in the library at 2pm after training for the day to discuss Kit’s “First Heir… stuff” as Julian so eloquently puts it. Kit was just grateful he wouldn’t be trying to answer their questions over breakfast.

He smirked at Emma. “Fancy trying to fight someone who can teleport?”

Emma’s responding grin could only be described as sharklike, “Oh you’re on.”

Just as Kit is about to leave, Julian designates him as co-cleaner, drying and putting the dishes away as Julian washes them. It doesn’t take long for Julian to begin speaking.

“You’re a good kid, Kit, and I can see how happy you make Ty but you didn’t see how he was after you left. I know you have this whole fae thing, which I hope you two have discussed, but, if you ever leave him without saying goodbye again, I don’t care what Institute you disappear to, I will find you.” He finally raised his head from the sink in front of him and looked at Kit. 

“I will _never_ do that to Ty again, I promise. I could never let anything hurt him. I’d rather never have pancakes again than that.”

Julian stared at him a moment longer before smiling. “Great.” And Kit allowed himself to let go of his breath, relief washing over him at the feeling of passing some kind of test. He put the last plate away and hurried to get changed for training.

He responds to Ty’s questioning look with his own smile as he enters the training room, heading to the mats in the middle where Emma is waiting and Kit… 

Kit is looking forward to it. To using his powers openly. To be able to properly train them. Also, he knows this is his one chance to beat Emma in a fight, while she still isn’t used to seeing someone vanish before her eyes, and, yeah, maybe he wants to make the most of it.

Ty leans against the wall to watch them and Kit knows he will be mentally writing a list of critiques for Kit to improve on but he also wonders whether Ty feels the same itching need to be as close as possible to each other, the ache of the distance between them being unbearable sometimes.

When Kit sends a quick wink his way and sees Ty’s answering blush, he knows the answer.

Taking up his defensive stance, Kit dodges Emma’s punches a couple of times, waiting, waiting for the right opportunity- and there! He teleports behind her, swiftly kicking her feet out from underneath. She rolls and is on her feet almost instantly but she spins, slightly off-kilter, to face Kit again, who can only smirk to himself. It continues like this; Emma attacking, Kit dodging, teleporting to the places where her fists and feet are not, a slow war of attrition. Until Kit cricks his neck, a plan forming.

First, he teleports to her left side and gets a hit on her ribs. When she spins that way, he returns to his original spot, bringing up an elbow. Then, he teleports behind, getting her in the back of her knees. As she falls, preparing to go into a roll and bounce back up, Kit intercepts, tackling her and pinning Emma to the floor. 

“Do I win?” Kit asked, smiling, as Emma glowered.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll beat you next time now I know what to expect.” She got up and dusted herself off. As Kit was walking to Ty she called out, causing him to turn, “Kit, well done.”

Kit can’t shake the sense of accomplishment. He knows that will never happen again, not against Emma, but it’s a good feeling of security. A card up his sleeve that no enemies will expect. (Another way to keep Ty safe)

He definitely needs to practice though, he thinks to himself as he showers before the meeting, changing out of his training gear. It was almost like the chess games that Jem liked to play, Kit never had the patience to sit down and learn the rules but he picked up the most important stuff from pretending not to watch him play. Namely, that you had to be thinking a few moves ahead.

He meets Ty and they walk to the library together. Kit is surprised to see the whole Institute there, even Tavvy is at one of the desks being forced to do his homework. They walk over to the group on the various sofas and chairs scattered around. 

“So, Kit,” Julian begins, “what research have you, Tessa, Jem and the others found so far.”

“Oh, um, nothing too useful. It's mainly all on faerie history and politics. I found a book here actually I’ve been reading which might be useful. It’s difficult to know how accurate any Shadowhunter information on the Fair Folk actually is though.”

Julian nods along. “Okay, can you show us the collection of the books you’ve gathered here and which ones you already know aren’t useful? Oh, and of course the one that’s promising you said about.”

“Me and Mark can talk to Kieran about the accuracy of the information when we see him next. Obviously, we won’t say anything about you,” Cristina added.

Kit looks around at them confused, shifting slightly on his seat. He was expecting an interrogation, to be grilled for details on this missing piece of two worlds’ histories. On how the lost heir and lost Herondale found themselves in each other. The Shadowhunter and Faerie worlds colliding, more opposite than any other. While Shadowhunters think themselves binary opposites to demons, at least they understand them. They don’t understand the fey at all.

Surely they want to ask about Alec’s fake mission? How he’s constantly been moving around the world. Exactly how much danger they are in with him just being there.

“Um, yeah, I can get those but… why?”

They all stare at him, slightly taken aback, and Kit feels Ty squeeze his hand from his spot next to him.

“Kit,” Julian begins slowly, “we want to help you. All of our resources are at your disposal. More people working on this can’t hurt.”

“You guys really don’t have to though-”

Dru cuts him off from the armchair she was lounging in, feet propped up on the coffee table. “No one is being forced to help, idiot. We want to.”

“Oh,” was all Kit could say.

He brought them to the hidden piles of books he had been collecting, bringing them out to the main area. Ty explained what they had found so far from the book about the separation of the faerie courts to Aline, Mark and Julian while Kit handed out a few he hadn’t touched yet to Dru, Cristina, Emma and Helen, answering their questions on what they should be looking out for.

He gave them the names of Shadowhunter writers who were especially biased and prejudiced, warning them not to trust their words. Once, when Emma thought she stumbled across a key piece, Kit had to inform her that, no, actually, the testimony that it is based on turned out to be someone lying about being captured by faeries. Turns out he made the whole thing up for a bit of publicity. Kit had first learned that the hard way. Somehow along the way, Kit had become a walking glossary of the terms writers in the 16th century used to describe faeries. And he learned more yet, Cristina providing knowledge that has been passed down for generations.

Not everyone could always be present, of course, at their researching sessions with the daily runnings of the Institute and Shadowhunter life but Kit still couldn’t believe the volume of help they provided. They raced through books that would have taken Kit weeks, setting up a comprehensive document of what they learnt that far surpassed the scraps of paper Kit had hidden away in drawers.

If there was an answer out there, Kit was this much closer to finding it.

~~~

Kit and Ty were usually the last ones left after the evening group research sessions. As everyone trickled away to bed or to other responsibilities, Kit and Ty remained in the library. And, once everyone else had left, they switched their work to Livvy and trying to reverse Ty’s spell.

They had compiled a list of Ty’s original ingredients and needed to find either the same or the complete opposite of each item. Kit knew a trip to the Shadowmarket would be coming up soon. However, they still have yet to figure out the exact words of the spell and where they should do it.

Livvy wasn’t with them tonight and, even in the six weeks Kit has been here, he has noticed her decreasing presence.

It was getting late. Kit looked over to where Ty was glued to the book he was studying, deciding to take it upon himself to get him to stop for the night. 

He walked over to where Ty sat in the armchair and, ducking under the book he was holding up, Kit sat on his lap, straddling him.

“Kit?” Ty questioned and even his voice sounded tired. He hasn’t slept well in a long time. While Kit’s presence sometimes helped, it certainly wasn’t a cure. Ty was determined to dedicate every second of the day to solving his and Livvy’s problems. He needed a break.

“This okay?” Kit checked as he rested his head on Ty’s shoulder, nose brushing the side of his neck allowing him to feel Ty’s affirmative nod. Ty placed his hands on Kit’s back, seemingly having been forced to put the book away. _Good_.

He began to press quick kisses along Ty’s neck and, with Ty’s humming approval he could feel against his lips, they soon turned to open mouth kisses. Ty knotted his fingers through his hair, clearly enjoying their position just as much as Kit was as he bit Ty’s collarbone before soothing the same spot with his lips and tongue.

“Kit,” Ty all but whimpered and he pulled back to see his work and _fuck_ -

Ty made for a beautiful masterpiece beneath him.

He wasn’t allowed long to admire his boyfriend before Ty pulled him down for a long and messy kiss. Kit’s fingers traced his cheekbones and jaw, feeling the hint of stubble there which reminded Kit of how much he has grown, how both of them have, since they first met. Apart and together.

Kit smirked as Ty’s hands ran up Kit’s thighs. “We should probably head upstairs,” he said before continuing to kiss Ty. Making no move to leave.

“I thought you said we should go.”

“Hm, I _am_ pretty comfortable here.”

Before he knew it, Ty had stood up, keeping his grip underneath Kit’s thighs and holding him steady. He instinctively clutched onto Ty’s shoulders and wrapped his legs around him. Kit laughed with sheer giddiness.

_Guess I can’t say I disapprove of this development._

He kissed him again before travelling across his face, figuring he should at least let Ty see where he was walking to, silently thanking the Angel Raziel for Ty’s crazy Shadowhunter training.

He nipped at Ty’s ear as they exited the library and mouthed down along his neck. Kit certainly wasn’t in the right mindset to teleport anyone; who knows where they would end up.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Ty gently placed Kit back on his own feet, returning to their usual height difference as Kit lost his advantage. Ty’s hands now rested on his waist, holding him close.

“Okay?” Kit whispered as Ty leant down, pressing their foreheads together.

“Yes,” he breathed, kissing him and slipping a leg between Kit’s in an attempt to get closer, allowing Kit to feel just how ‘okay’ Ty was. “Come on.”

Ty pulled Kit behind him up the stairs and along the hallway to their room. (When did he start thinking of Ty’s room as theirs?) 

Here, they wouldn’t have to worry about anyone potentially finding them. They shut the door laughing and blushing, holding onto each other tightly as if any second they aren’t touching is a moment lost. They shut the door to the outside world and its problems. 

Here, it was just them. Kit and Ty. No defences. No fronts. 

Just two people, two teenagers, hopelessly in love.

And ready to burn down the world to protect it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That first fight scene is the scene that I first imagined which eventually led to this whole fic but back then I definitely didn't think it would turn into this whole fic so it's been an experience 
> 
> Also, remember folks consent is sexy


	7. We Came From Stardust, and One Day We Will Return

Ty slipped the list into his pocket as they left the Institute. They had together carefully curated the list of all the ingredients needed for the spell to send Livvy back to… wherever she needs to go back to.

This was the last step before they actually did the spell. After this, there was no more putting it off with excuses. Kit didn’t know when they would complete the spell but he knew it needed to be soon.

He just doesn’t know how Ty will be able to do it. 

He knows he will. It’s Ty. He would never do anything that would hurt Livvy. But still. To actively be the one to send her away. Kit is braced for the aftermath.

They had three ingredients to get from the Shadowmarket today. The same three Ty had needed the last time; incense from the heart of a volcano, chalk powdered from the bones of a murder victim and myrrh grown by faeries, harvested at midnight with a silversickle.

With the specificity of the items, Kit thought it was a wonder there would even be more than one for them to buy. 

The other items they already had. Kit was, understandable he thinks, jolted when Ty informed him that, in contrast to it being Livvy, this time they needed _his_ blood, hair  
and bone. 

“Bone?” Kit exclaimed.

“Baby tooth,” Ty quickly assured him.

In fact, the spell had less to do with Livvy than it did with Ty. Apart from the use of an item of Livvy’s to target and tether the magic to her, it was more about reversing Ty’s prior spell.

They didn’t even need a catalyst, as Ty explained to him, even though as Shadowhunters they lacked magic, Kit’s whole faerie thing being ignored. Since they were reversing something that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place, one of the magical theory books explained it was less of a pull against the laws of nature and instead a gentle nudge in the direction it was already planning on going. 

However, to fix what had gone wrong with the spell initially, the corrupt catalyst, they needed an item which embodied innocence to counteract this. Ty had simply picked up a fallen acorn on his walk and held it out; nature’s continuous cycle of life.

After their shopping trip here, they had one last ingredient to collect.

Ty slipped his headphones on as they entered the Shadowmarket. He headed directly to the booth he had bought the incense from before all that time ago. While some of the sellers and items switched, the Shadowmarket’s core would never really change. The reliability of finding that certain warlock who sold you a pixies’ candle once was always there.

The familiarity of the Market hit Kit immediately. He had always thought of this place as his first home until he met the Blackthorns and realised what home is really meant to feel like.

Ty quickly bought the incense while Kit hovered behind him, he ensured that his posture was relaxed as his eyes scanned any potential threats. For the first time Kit noticed that all the unwanted glares were directed at _him_. He’s always known Shadowhunters weren’t wanted but with the distasteful looks aimed at his runes, he realised just how much he’s changed since he was last here, even in physical appearance.

Kit knew then that the Kit he was here, all those years ago, in the Shadowmarket, the one place he felt free, he will never be again.

Next up was the chalk. Ty had let him know before coming that the last merchant he visited has since been arrested for his, um, illegal methods of gaining products. Luckily enough for them, Kit knew all the most crooked sellers.

Making their way slowly through the crowd, Kit spotted a familiar face. He tapped Ty’s arm, three gentle taps, and he immediately changed direction to where Kit indicated.

Kit wasn’t sure if Ty knew that he had assigned meaning to each tap; three taps translating to _follow me_. Even without words, Ty understood Kit.

“Well if it isn’t Johnny Rook’s kid.”

Kit sighed, leaning forward onto his table and mindlessly picking up a couple of items out for show, careful to choose ones that wouldn’t bite his fingers off. It’s been a while since he’s heard his father’s name.

“Nice to see you too,” he drawled, eyeing the werewolf up. 

When he told him what they were looking for all he returned was a grin with no happiness behind it.

“Can’t say I know anything about that.”

“So you wouldn’t happen to have an extensive back section?”

“A few bits and bobs. Normally charge a fee for me to even look back there. Can’t risk anything happening to my products here.” 

“Well, it’s a good thing you have two Shadowhunters here who can protect your booth while you look then.”

The werewolf stared a moment longer before heading to the darkest corners of his tent.

“And don’t forget,” Kit called after, “I know exactly what your goods are worth.”

He looked back at Ty who was scanning the area. One hand rested ever-so casually next to the hilt of his seraph blade while the other fluttered by his side.

Even if Kit wanted to speak to Ty, something they wouldn’t risk being overheard, the sheer volume and sensory overload of the Market sights and smells made it impossible. Instead he reached over, slowly so Ty knew it was him, and tapped him twice on the inside of his wrist.

Two taps: _I’m here._

He quickly exchanged goods and money with the werewolf, slipping the slightly illicit chalk into Ty’s bag, before leaving. They meandered through the stalls, eyes roving aimlessly trying to find what they needed, searching, searching, searching.

They saw it at the same time; the range of myrrh strawn across a faerie’s table. Walking forwards, Ty placed himself slightly in front of Kit and he knew what he was trying to do. To keep the faerie’s attention off of Kit just in case he was recognised. So, this time Kit took his position on the edge of her tent while Ty ducked under, still within hearing range. 

“What kind of item are you looking for, Shadowhunter?”

“Myrrh harvested at midnight with a silversickle.”

“That’s one of my most expensive kinds. Are you sure you can afford it?”

Ty told her the price he was willing to pay, a bit under what they estimated the cost to be and almost all the money they had brought, just as Kit had instructed him to do. Ty assured Kit that Julian didn’t mind him taking a portion of the Institute’s funds saying he needed it for an investigation for the Scholomance. 

The faerie just laughed at Ty’s offer. “If that’s how much you think this is worth then you must not know much about the item you’re planning on purchasing.”

She then named a price so high that Kit thought he had misheard.

Ty continued to haggle but she refused to budge.

Kit sighed, he should have known she was going to inflate her prices in the face of runes. He ducked into the tent, feeling Ty’s attention shift towards him, and put on the most stereotypical Shadowhunter persona at his disposal. He walks forward like he expects others to move out of his way. He raises his eyebrow at the items on display, ignoring the berries in a bowl that most people would assume are decorations while Kit knew better. He smirked at the faerie like he expected a discount just for granting her the pleasure of looking at his face.

In other words, he made sure there was no thinking he was anything other than a Shadowhunter.

“You and I both know it is not worth that much. Maybe during the Cold Peace but I could buy a silversickle and walk into Faerie to harvest it myself for cheaper than the price you named.”

“Are you suggesting I should underpay my labourers?”

“Of course not. But I think the cost we’ve already named should be plenty to pay each of them.”

She narrowed her eyes, trying to bargain a higher price.

Kit made one last amendment. “Take it or leave it.”

After a moment, in which Kit held his breath, she nodded and confirmed their deal.

“You’re good at that,” Ty let him know as they exited the Shadowmarket.

“Thanks,” Kit ducked his head at his praise to hide how pleased he was. “Guess I learnt more than just picking locks from Johnny.”

They just had one last item to collect.

Thankfully, they didn’t need an item from another world. If they did, Kit doesn’t think they would’ve been able to follow through. Instead, they needed something to signify the world they would be sending Livvy too; whichever kind of afterlife you believed, or didn’t believe, in.

They needed something that reeked in death.

Entering the graveyard, Kit looked around before spotting what they had come here for. The unnamed grave lay before them in utter neglect. Kit leaned forwards and picked up the flowers that had been left a long time ago. All of the flowers were long dead and he had to cradle them to prevent them crumbling away beneath his touch.

Ty quickly stepped forwards and replaced the grave with the fresh bundle of flowers they had picked up on the way from the Shadowmarket. They had chosen the most colourful and vibrant ones they could find, the one spark of colour for this corner of the world. The ones Ty had assured him had the most soothing texture on the petals.

When they returned, Kit paused before the doors of the Institute. He looked at Ty. This was it. They had everything they needed. Things were going to change irrevocably very soon. It felt like watching the tide pull back, knowing a tsunami was on its way, and knowing you won’t be able to outrun it.

They were finally going to fix what happened on that terrible night all those years ago. And in doing so, reversing all the good that came from it and say goodbye to Livvy.

For good.

~~~

They both know the day they are going to perform the spell.

Having to wait until nightfall, the day has been a sombre one. Mostly spent in Ty’s room or all the hidden alcoves around the Institute that the twins had found over the years, throughout their childhood.

Livvy has been here all day. The longest she’s been able to stay, according to Ty, for months. Kit doesn’t know if Livvy is using the last dregs of her energy for this one day or if the universe is granting them a few more hours before she is gone permanently. But whatever it is, Kit is grateful.

Ty and Livvy spent the whole day together. Chatting. Reminiscing. Laughing. Kit leaves them alone mostly. Bringing up food supplies to keep Ty’s energy up.

He had spent the whole of the prior night with Ty wrapped up close in his arms. Neither of them slept much. With Ty periodically crying and Kit having a panic attack at one point. They didn’t talk much. They just held close and helped each other get through that long tortuous night. And at the same time, Kit wished it could have lasted longer.

When he eats dinner upstairs with the twins, telling Ty’s family he was feeling a bit ill, Livvy revealed stories from their childhood that Kit hadn’t heard yet. Kit laughed along and committed each story to memory.

He wondered if Livvy was telling them to make sure that Ty didn’t forget a moment they had spent together, a hard feat to cover in a single day considering that encompassed their entire lives. But Kit knew Ty would never forget, not the pranks on their siblings and mysteries they solved.

No, Kit was worried Ty would forget the little things. The things that can’t be put into words or captured in a photograph. The things that time inevitably takes away from you. The shade Livvy’s hair would change to in the sun when it brought out the lighter strands amongst her hair. The exact way she laughed when trying to hide that she found a joke funny.

How her (real) hugs felt.

Once the sun sets, they gather all the items they need and leave the Institute, avoiding all other residents as they sneak out. They need to perform the spell near water just like the first time. And since they can no longer return to Lake Lynn, the beach was the most logical choice.

Ty slowly and meticulously carves out the symbols on the sand he had spent hours memorising. He places all the ingredients they had collected around the circle as required.

Incense from the heart of a volcano.

The acorn.

Myrrh grown by faeries and harvested at midnight with a silversickle.

Chalk powdered from the bones of a murder victim.

And in the centre, Ty carefully placed Livvy’s locket with the flower of death above it. Ty pulled the baby tooth he had stolen from the boxes Julian kept out of his pocket and took his knife out of his sheath. First, Kit watched as he pulled a lock of his hair taunt and, using the knife, chopped it off. Then, he placed two of the three needed items on top of the flower. Finally, even though Kit knew it was coming, he found himself looking away as Ty carefully cut the side of his forearm, allowing the blood to drip onto the pile beneath him in the centre of the spell’s circle.

When he steps back, not quite admiring his work but more ensuring everything had been done correctly, Kit carefully stepped closer and placed an iratze on his arm, quickly healing the cut.

Ty looked up at Livvy then who was standing on the edge of the water, the tides pulling forwards and back, washing through her without breaking stride.

Ty approaches her and Kit steps further back so he doesn’t overhear their last conversation. Instead, he watches how the tide breaks against Ty’s feet and the moonlight bounces off the waves. 

Looking up, he can see every star in the night sky watching him in return. He remembers pointing out the constellations to Ty. The stars are so far away and yet look like you can reach up and pluck them out of the sky. Maybe that’s what being human is all about.

The indescribable distance between each of us. The vast loneliness that can only accompany being a sole conscious being. We spend our whole lives trying to find others who make us feel a little less alone in this universe. 

Maybe we need to believe that we are truly made of stardust and one day we will return to those among the stars in the sky. 

Eventually, Kit doesn’t measure it, knowing that it will never be enough time for her and Ty, Livvy glides over to him.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“Thank you,” Kit starts, “for being one of my first friends. For helping me come to terms with being a Shadowhunter. And for being there for Ty when I wasn’t.”

Livvy looks at him and in her eyes Kit can see someone who has lived much more than a single lifetime. “Thank _you_ for being my friend. I could never express to you how grateful I was, am and always will be for how you accepted Ty and didn’t try to make him feel different. Take care of him.”

“I will,” Kit states firmly.

“And yourself,” Livvy adds with a knowing look. “You’ll be okay. You both will be. You have each other and your families.”

They smiled at each other and Kit realised there were no more words they needed to say to each other. They already knew.

“Goodbye Kit.”

“Goodbye Livvy.” 

Livvy returned to Ty who had come closer and Kit rapidly blinked away the tears forming in his eyes.

“I’m ready,” Livvy told Ty, voice steady despite the pain in her face.

Livvy hovers over the centre of the circle while Ty kneels in front, eyes rapidly moving across her face. Kit sits next to him, not quite touching, as Ty begins chanting the words they spent hours putting together. Kit makes sure he is close enough to hold Ty when it is over. When he breaks.

When someone is needed to hold the pieces of Tiberius Blackthorn together.

“Natura vult lunam mare flores terram ibis vade ingredere.” Ty spoke the words clearly as his voice wavered slightly.

Once the words were spoken, the items around and within the circle burned away. The soft glow merged with Livvy’s own light, the most obvious sign that she was not of this world. The moonlight shined through her and they both watched as her face relaxed of any tension or worry,

“Thank you,” she murmured, loud enough for them both to hear, before she faded and disappeared.

Kit let out a breath. It was done. The heaviness of her loss collided with the lightness of knowing Livvy is happy and wrongs have been righted, balance restored. 

The soft scene around them seemed far too quiet for the event that just took place. The crashing of waves and gently blowing wind only disturbed by Ty’s haggard breathing as he sobs into Kit.

They stay there for a long time. Kit whispered Ty’s soothing words into his ear while Ty uses the string of his hoodie as a stim. As he cries, Kit taps gently onto his arm. Bum-bum. Bum-bum.

 _I’m here_ , he tells Ty. _I’m here._

So different to the aftermath of the first spell.

Eventually, minutes, hours, days later, once the wind has blown away the symbols in the sand and the tide creeps closer and all evidence of them, of Livvy being here, disappears before their very eyes. Nature slowly regaining its ground.

Ty rasps, “Let’s go back.” His tears have dried up and he was _drained_ in every sense of the world.

Kit helps him to stand up. He grabs Livvy’s locket and brushes the sand off it, the only item to have survived, and places it around Ty’s neck. He wraps his arm around Ty’s waist as they make the stretching journey before them back to the Institute. Back home.

Kit focuses on Ty. He focuses on making sure they both keep putting one foot in front of another. 

He didn’t, however, focus on their surroundings and because of that he didn’t notice they were surrounded until it was too late.

He tightened his grip on Ty as he pulled out his seraph blade, the only weapon either of them currently had. He silently curses as he takes in the dozen faeries surrounding them.

Ty straightens, taking responsibility for his own weight, and despite his bone-deep weariness, he takes a fighting stance.

Kit drapes the cocky and sarcastic persona onto his shoulders like a familiar shawl passed down his family for generations.

“Well, it sure is a lovely night for a beach walk but we really need to be on our way,” Kit politely informed them, his fake smile feeling tight.

“Not so fast Shadowhunter,” the one he assumes is the leader spits, “or whatever fae/Nephilim hybrid you are.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She made a quick gesture and another faerie steps forward and _fuck_ , maybe if they had had more than a measly couple hours sleep the last few nights and weren’t grieving, maybe they would’ve reacted quicker. But they didn’t. And before they knew it, the faerie had pulled Ty out of Kit’s grip and pressed a dagger to his throat.

“Now,” the leader drawled patronisingly, “maybe you won’t be so quick to lie.”

“Alright, you got me. How’d you find me anyway?”

“We’ve known who you are for a long time Christopher Herondale. It was only a matter of time before you returned to LA.”

Kit desperately searched for an advantage, anything, he could use as he kept trying to gain time. “So, who are you lot then? Do you want to rule over faerie or looking to profit from a war?”

“Silly mortal.” She smiled and it was the grin of a predator with their prey in sight. “Why, we want you dead, of course.”

“Unseelie Court then I’m presuming?”

The faerie studied him. “Someone has a vested interest in ending the First Heir line.”

“Wow, you really love dramatic statements, don’t you? What makes this person think they can succeed where even the Riders of Mannan failed?”

The surrounding faeries laughed quietly.

“They weren’t aware of your weakness.”

Cue Kit’s cocky smile. “And what’s that, huh?” Shit. Shit. Shit. There was no way out that Kit could see. No point of weakness in the circle surrounding them. He couldn’t see a way they can both escape weaponless, leaving the only option being to teleport them both.

“The Blackthorns, of course.”

Kit froze.

This was exactly what he feared. Even if he escaped today, he couldn’t protect them all. Even if he left and never saw them again, he couldn’t promise someone wouldn’t try to use them against him.

He couldn’t do that to the people who have taken him in, for the second time. 

He couldn’t do that to Ty.

“Well, you’ve got me now so you might as well let him go.” Kit could feel Ty watching him and knew exactly what he wanted Kit to do. But he couldn’t. He needed to make sure Ty and the others were safe. That was more important than anything.

“We don’t like to leave any witnesses,” she so dutifully informed him. “I’m willing to assume that not many others at the Institute know you two are out here at this time of night.”

Kit looked directly at Ty, hoping he understood what he was about to do.

He hoped he would be able to forgive him.

“You shouldn’t kill me now.”

“And why’s that.”

“Because I’m sure whoever you’re working for would like to see proof that you’ve actually completed your task. After all, us First Heirs are tricky bastards. We’re like weeds; just keep coming back no matter how many times you pull us up. I could be keeping a secret child somewhere.”

Ty stared at him, eyebrows furrowing, trying to figure out Kit’s plan.

The faerie knew he was lying of course. But he was willing to bet that she feared her boss more should it turn out that Kit was telling the truth and they had failed the task like so many before them had.

The faeries exchanged looks before nodding in agreement and all of their eyes landed on the fae holding Ty. Kit knew the next words out of his mouth would doom him.

“Ty,” Kit smiled sadly, “I love you.”

He saw the second that Ty figured out what he was about to do and saw the shifting emotions, confusion, anger, betrayal, before Kit made Ty disappear in a blink of an eye and prayed he landed back at the Institute safely.

The faerie who was now holding thin air nearly fell over in surprise and the leader lunged towards Kit, grabbing onto him. “What did you do?” She snarled.

Kit feigned surprise. “You guys saw that too?” And was rewarded with a punch to the face.

She pushed him to the ground before motioning to the others. “Let’s go.” 

The last thing Kit saw, before he felt a pain on the back of his head and the world fell to darkness, was the stars above the beach he and Ty had explored. Hands buried in sand and eyes on the cosmos. The entire world had stretched before them, rippling above the surface of the water.

He could only hope that when his body returned to stardust and he took his place in the sky, he would be able to look down on this very beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	8. All You Ever Needed To Be

Kit had woken up in darkness days ago. He couldn’t tell you how many days however due to the irregular arrival of food and being cut off from the outside world. His cell was made up of four thick stone walls and he had the feeling he was underground, or that could have been the slight claustrophobia he was trying to ignore. 

He had been stripped of all weapons, even his stele. Food, usually a kind of soup, arrived in a bowl for him to drink. No cutlery. No matter how many times he scoured the floor he couldn’t find even the smallest stone to try and do- _something_.

With his non-permanent runes long faded, he could only rely on the skills he had learnt over the last few years. Assuming he was in Faerie, he didn’t want to risk teleporting back home. Besides, they knew where to find him now.

They knew to target the Blackthorns.

In short, during those undeterminable days he spent in that cell in Faerie, he didn’t have much to do with only his thoughts for company.

He thinks about those he left who he can’t bring himself to hope that he will see again. 

Tessa, Jem and Mina became his family. The first time he truly, without any doubts, felt like he belonged. Tessa and Jem had never shied away from any of the teenage angst, or what they dubbed Herondale dramatics, he had brought along with him. Never set him apart from Mina, James and Lucie.

They were his parents. Despite his awkward fumblings around the words, they had waited. They would have treated him the same no matter which labels he preferred but it took a while for Kit to be confident in his decision to put them in the category of ‘mum’ and ‘dad’. Once they were there though, everything seemed to fall into place.

He missed them a lot.

He tried not to think about it when he knew he couldn’t see them. He tried not to let it show and for them to worry, instead telling them about what he’s seen in all his travels.

Jace was a different kind of family. Falling somewhere under the category of cousins but ending up more like brothers. As the last living, biologically related family, Kit had certainly felt the pressure to get along.

Somewhere over the regularly scheduled meet up every two months, they had gotten close. They had gotten over the awkward introductions and getting to know each other and fell into their current relationship which, for a large part, was made up of Kit sending Jace a picture of every duck he saw. (He received a lot of angry face emojis in return)

With Jace came Clary and Simon and Izzy and Alec. All these people who others talk about as legends and myths and Kit can only laugh because he’s the admin of the group chat to discuss their take out orders when Izzy cooks dinner that night.

The friends and more-than-acquaintances that he made in all the Institutes he has travelled to. Most of them welcoming him and teaching him about both their mundane and Shadowhunter life. Sitting in that cell, he regrets not texting them back more often.

Helen and Aline he only recently was able to get to know but who run the Institute with equal fairness and determination. Never compromising. 

Mark, who once had an amusing conversation with him about Faerie which was, nonetheless, sweet.

Emma and Cristina who weren’t Blackthorns by blood but became part of their unit in the same way that Kit had only ever hoped towards. And maybe by the end he might have.

Julian had accepted him again after hurting those who were most precious to him. And had given him an only slightly scary shovel talk.

Dru was the first person to forgive him after he left, including himself. With her forgiveness and resurrected friendship, Kit could finally begin to move towards accepting the past and moving on. 

He taught her to pick locks and she taught him that being a Shadowhunter didn’t mean that he had to cut himself off from the mundane world completely. Kit pretending he didn’t jump during the horror film. Dru knocking sense into him, literally and figuratively. Eagerly swapping stories and funny mishaps that have happened in the time they were apart.

And, of course, Kit thinks about Ty.

It took them three years to find each other again and yet, through all the miscommunication and self-doubt, they had made it. Kit felt and experienced the type of love he thought you could only find in Tessa’s romance books. 

Ty deserved the world. He was strong. It wouldn’t be easy but he would be able to live his life if Kit wasted away down here. He has his family and his friends at the Scholomance, his purpose.

Kit just wished he could have seen his smile one last time.

Eventually, the door opens and no food appears. Several armed faeries enter and, despite his pathetic struggles, they easily tie his hands behind his back and lead him out of his cell.

He shuts his eyes instinctively at the brightly lit corridor lined with torches. Forcing himself to adjust, he notes the dirt and grime covering the clothes he’s been wearing for days straight. He gets taken up a set of stairs and upon emerging from underground he realises he’s walking on smooth hardwood floors, through emerald green covered walls.

Judging by the decadent decorations and glimpses he steals from open windows, he has been kept in the basement of an expensive manor house in the Seelie lands.

Kit is brought to a large room where several members of the fair folk are gathered. He assumes the room is at the heart of the building considering the lack of windows. There is also a tree growing through the middle of the room, its branches disappearing in the floors above them.

 _Faerie architecture_ , Kit muses as he is pushed to his knees in front of the faerie who is seemingly dressed as the highest status in the room. The ‘Lord’, as his guards referred to him as, sneers down at him.

“It’s a shame to see what becomes of faerie blood when it is diluted by vermin.”

“So you’re the one who wants to kill me. Well, one of many I should say. You’re going to have to join the queue,” Kit said, desperately ignoring the fact that he was clearly at the head of the long line.

The Lord just smiled at him, a smile that showed decades of being unchallenged and just how little he thought of Kit. He could tell he was planning on getting this over with quickly.

“I pose no threat to the Faerie thrones. I’m a Shadowhunter. You couldn’t have someone with angel blood rule Faerie, hell, you guys wouldn’t even let someone who is half-faerie anywhere near a position of power.”

“You have blood of both courts,” he states simply.

“A drop, perhaps,” Kit pleads. “You’d probably have more blood in you if you pricked the Unseelie King himself and injected it into your veins.”

He looked around at the other faeries hovering on the edges. Some heads were bent together and others watched him disdainfully but still there seemed to be interest aimed towards him.

He was sure he fell far short of their imaginings of the First Heir. The man in front of them was covered in runes and scars from demon hunting. He wasn’t immune to their illusions and can touch iron. There was no way the man before them, the Shadowhunter before them, could ever be fit to rule the Fair Folk.

Kit continues. “I’ll denounce my position if that’s what it takes. I know why there are two courts in the first place. You lost so many lives in that war; another will ruin Faerie. You need better communication, to try and understand each other, not to take over the other against the people’s will. I’m not about to get involved. Exiled faeries are barred from their history and their land. You can do the same for me.”

He holds his breath. The way the Lord just tilts his head and looks at him, Kit’s heart sunk.

“That’s likely a possibility but it'll be much easier and safer to just kill you.”

He failed. All those hours of research by him, Ty, Tessa, Jem, Jace, Dru. All for nothing. It truly was a pointless endeavour.

The Lord turns around to walk back to his social circle, indicating another faerie to walk forwards, knife in hand.

Despite the futility, Kit felt his instincts push against the situation. _No_. 

The knife is inches away from his heart when he teleports.

He reappears behind a line of faeries guarding the room and kicks one in the back, causing them to drop their sword in surprise. The others in the room startle, turning towards him. He doesn’t know what the outside of the room looks like well enough to teleport without risking leaving half of himself behind, literally. 

Kit hopes it won’t come to that. 

He teleports around the room a few more times, dodging the weapons spinning around to face him. He looks for some way to free his hands tied behind his back but in a room full of a dozen faeries trying to kill him, he really can’t see a solution. 

A group of the guards gather around the Lord of the manor and other faeries of the court, weapons out, but Kit has no intention of attacking them. Really, what’s one unarmed, unruned, and restrained Shadowhunter going to do? All he can do is dodge swinging blades, trying to get closer to the faeries blocking the door. Any time he feels a blade press in, drawing blood, he immediately teleports, probably leaving drops of blood all over the place.

He sees an opening to the door that he entered through, remembering the windows in the halls he passed, and starts to run, careful to remain balanced with the restriction upon his arms.

Kit never saw what the faerie hit him with. Something bulky and heavy and solid. Something that would cause a lot of damage. No, Kit only felt it brush against the back of his calf before he heard the bone of his leg-

 _Snap_.

He collapsed to the floor, rolling onto his back. Breathing heavily, Kit tried to focus his eyes on the ceiling above him. View soon taken up by a faerie with a knife in hand and murder in her eyes.

Kit struggles to focus on anything except the sheer pain coursing through him. 

That’s why he doesn’t realise that the faerie above him is gone. The noise of the room is overpowered by the rushing of blood in his ears.

He zones in on his other senses to try and ignore the pain. The cold floor at his back. The tight ropes around his wrist. The arms around his shoulders, lifting him up. The knee pressing into his side. The hands cupping his face, turning him to look to the side. The warm breath he can feel brushing his face.

Kit focuses his eyes on the very ones before him. The ones that he could recognise anywhere in a crowd. If he was an artist, he would dedicate his life to painting them in the correct shades. If he was a writer, he would create the perfect simile to describe them (if he could even compare them to anything else).

As it was, he was just Kit.

But, it turned out, that was all he ever needed to be.

“Ty?”

“Kit,” he breathed and Kit could see the tension visibly leave Ty, his muscles relaxing.

Now sitting up, Kit’s head turned automatically to see the source of his pain but Ty’s hands remained firm, keeping him in place and blocking his eyesight.

“Don’t look.” Ty removed the hand not between him and his leg to take out his stele. “We won’t be able to fix it until we get back but this will help with the pain,” he told Kit, applying the rune.

As the storm of pain receded to the horizon, a more manageable layer of haze taking over, Kit realises the others who are now in the room.

Surrounding the pair sitting on the floor are Julian, Emma, Dru, Tessa and Jem. Despite everything, Kit brightens up at the sight of his parents after months apart. Tessa looks over her shoulder at him, scanning his injuries with a critical eye. Kit smiles back to let her know he’s okay.

“We have express orders from the Consul to prevent you from hurting the Shadowhunter you’ve kidnapped and take him back with us.” Kit looks to the front to see Jace and Clary standing head on with the Lord faerie, well, with a few nervous looking guards between them in the face of the legendary pair. “Any harm will be retaliated by the full force of the Clave.”

He makes direct eye contact with Kit, fury clear, when he nods along to the demands. Allowing them to leave. Jem rushes over to join Ty in helping Kit up, his wrists having been freed by Ty, arms over each of their shoulders and Ty’s around his waist, as they all hurry out of the building.

Once a safe distance away from the manor, Tessa joins the trio, gently patting Kit’s hair. 

“It won’t be too long to the passage we entered Faerie through, sweetheart. Will you be okay to get there?”

“I’ll be fine,” Kit assured her.

“The rune working?”

“Yes, mum.”

Tessa smiled despite the line between her eyebrows from worrying.

He turned to Ty who was staring down and watching Kit’s step. Kit didn’t dare to look but felt assured that someone else, that Ty, was checking he was making his way forward slowly but surely.

“How long-” He swallowed. “How long was I gone?”

“Three weeks and two days.”

“Oh.”

“How long was it for you?” Ty questioned in return.

“I’m not entirely sure, maybe five days?”

Ty nodded, seemingly grateful. “It could have been much longer.”

“Still, Ty. That’s a long time for you.” Kit was aware that Jem was next to them and knew he and Ty would need to have a conversation later.

Ty raised his head slightly, eyes landing over Kit’s shoulder and he could feel his fingers knotted into his shirt where he held onto him. “You’re back now.” 

They were silent for a few moments longer before Jem spoke.

“Tiberius let us know what happened immediately and we came to the Institute straight away to find you. Faerie can be tricky to navigate, I’m sorry it took this long.”

Kit shook his head. “You guys had perfect timing.” He paused. “Where’s Mina?”

“At the Institute with Helen and Aline.” Jem smiled at him in a way only a dad or father-figure can. “She’s excited to see you again.”

“I am too.” Kit smiled, despite everything, with the relief that his family was safe.

When they reached the passageway, Jace was waiting, watching everyone pass through. Kit was at the end of the line. He pulls up a smile as Kit nears but he can easily see the worry behind the classic Herondale charm. 

“Didn’t make it easy to find you, did you?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Kit threw back.

Jace shook his head. “Hope you know Simon is taking this to mean you’re joining his film preview next weekend, Christopher.”

“Tell him I’ll try to be there.” As Jem and Ty helped him through the passageway, he called back. “It’s Kit.”

On the other side, a portal was already open, presumably either Clary or Tessa, and through it, Kit finally felt some of the burden of the last few days leaving him.

He was back.

At the LA Institute.

Kit was quickly ushered into the infirmary and deposited onto one of the beds. Tessa started working her magic on his leg. Jem retreated from the room, Kit assumed to go check on Mina, while Ty hovered.

“Go get some sleep. Or something to eat.” Ty certainly looked like he needed it. “I’m okay. I’ll probably pass out immediately,” Kit assured him and after a moment he left too.

“This will be the worst part but it’ll be over soon.” Kit nodded at Tessa’s words waiting waiting waiting and _there_ -

His entire body was taken over by the electric jolt of pain but once it passed all he felt was relief, knowing his leg was now facing the right direction. It’s the little things in life, right?

Tessa placed a hand on his cheek. “You’ve been so brave, my boy.” And Kit felt a few tears escape. He sat up, Tessa sitting next to him and wrapped him into a hug. You’d think someone who had only been given a caring family three years ago wouldn’t need to rely on them so heavily.

You’d be wrong.

They stayed there for a long moment. And if a few more tears escaped Kit after all that had happened, well, he knew Tessa wouldn’t tell on him.

After a few steadying breaths, he moved away from his mum’s hold.

“Now I want you to sleep in here tonight so I can keep an eye on you but you should take a shower first just be careful not to put too much weight on your leg.”

“Is that your way of telling me I smell?”

“Well,” she trailed off and Kit gave her a look of betrayal.

“Sorry faerie cells don’t come with luxury en-suites.” Tessa chuckled as she waved him off.

Washed and into clean clothes, Kit wasted no time in falling into a heavy comfortable sleep.

~~~

The first thing Kit noted with surprise as he emerged from the hold of sleep was warmth. He hadn’t felt _warm_ in so long. On the hard stone floors of that cell, he was never relaxed enough to do more than doze off. Never sure when someone might come in.

He jolted awake in a panic, completely disoriented and heart pounding. Once he recognised his surroundings, he allowed himself to sink back.

The next thing he noticed was Ty sitting in the chair next to him, studying him. He leant forward quickly as Kit woke up. 

“Ty,” Kit breathed and he was taken back to that moment back in Faerie when he recognised him, the boy he loves. He reached a shaky hand towards Ty, not all the way, waiting, hoping, Ty would meet him halfway.

He did.

He always did.

Ty grabbed his with both of his hands, previously fluttering at his side. One hand rubbed Kit’s palm, feeling the familiar texture of his calluses while the fingers of the other rested on his pulse point, feeling his heartbeat.

Ty, Kit determined, did not then follow his instructions earlier. With the bags under his eyes Kit doubted he had slept at all in the weeks he had been gone. The weeks Livvy had been gone. 

Before he can say anything more, Tessa and Jem come in with Mina who runs straight to jump onto Kit’s bed. Ty removed his hands to place his headphones on his ears but Kit sees the soft expression that comes over him seeing Mina.

“Kit!” She exclaims as he pulls her into his lap, beginning to ramble on about something that he had missed while away. He tried to listen to her rather than focus on how much she’s grown. Further pointers to have much time he’s lost.

“I’ll go get us dinner,” Ty told him before leaving the family alone. Kit must have slept all day.

“How are you feeling?” Jem cuts in as soon as Mina stops to take a breath.

“I’m alright. Thanks for coming.”

“Of course we would come, Kit.” Jem reaches out and ruffles his hair, an action Kit tries to duck and avoid, with a ghost of a smile on his face. “We’ve missed you.”

Kit swallowed dryly. “I’ve missed you guys too.”

“We’ll be staying at the Institute for the next few days while we sort everything out.”

 _Right, yeah. Shit_. Kit’s really messed everything up. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. When he’s going to have to leave again. How they are going to protect the Blackthorns.

There was a lot to sort out. 

Call Kit selfish, but he wanted to avoid that conversation for as long as he could.

Luckily for him, that was when Ty entered again carrying two plates of whatever had been made for dinner that night.

Tessa comes forward to pick Mina up off Kit’s lap. “We’ll leave you two boys to it. Your leg’s healed nicely by the way, honey, if you want to leave.”

Kit nodded, watching the three of them leave the room. Tessa paused on the doorway, turning back to face them.

“It’s been lovely getting to know you, Ty, these last few weeks. We had heard so much about you from Kit.”

“Mum!” Kit exclaimed, feeling the heat rise to his face, but she had already left.

He avoided looking at Ty as he took his plate, quickly devouring his food. He hadn’t realised just how hungry he was.

There were a few moments of awkward silence between them after they had finished eating.

“Can we go upstairs? I’ve been stuck in here for long enough already.”

When they entered Ty’s room, Kit sat on his bed, leg still a bit sore as well as the other injuries which had been mostly healed by an iratze. Ty took his headphones off, twirling the cord around his fingers.

“You left me.” Ty’s voice shook. “You promised you wouldn’t leave me again like last time. But you did. You didn’t come with me. You could’ve come with me.”

“I needed to keep you safe Ty. That was my biggest priority. That will always be my priority.”

“I want to keep you safe, too. You didn’t let me.”

“I couldn’t put your family at risk. They knew, they _know_ , where to find me. I’m putting you all in harm’s way. I’m not sorry I did what I did to keep you all safe but I am sorry I had to leave like that.”

“You’re not putting us at risk.”

“I am!” Kit threw his hands in the air. “I shouldn’t be here. I’m going to have to leave sooner now. But I don’t know how to stop them from coming after you.”

“Stop that.”

“What?”

“Stop trying to leave.”

“Ty,” he pleaded. “I don’t want to. I have no choice.”

“Yes, you do.” Ty’s eyes burned with the emotions behind them. The strength. The determination. The sheer will to _not let go_.

“What do you mean?”

“When they took you we talked to Kieran and explained everything. We showed him all of our research and he found a way to denounce the Unseelie blood in you so it’d be impossible for you to ever rule both courts. It’s a really old practice that most living faeries wouldn’t know about. In fact, our research is probably one of the only surviving mentions of it.”

Kit blinked, trying to take it in but- he just couldn’t let himself. If he believed it and it then changed, there would be no coming back from it. “Are… are you sure?”

“You can ask him about it yourself. He’ll be here in a few days to perform the ceremony. Tessa and Jem have been reading about it. They can confirm it for you. After it’s done, Kieran will spread word in Faerie so everyone knows you’re essentially a normal Shadowhunter with a fae ancestor.”

“Oh.”

“Do you not believe me?” Ty stepped closer.

“I do! I do. It’s just hard to imagine it could be as simple as that.”

Ty reached forward and brushed a hand through his hair. “I’m not sure anything about this could be described as ‘simple’.”

Kit snorted. “That’s true.” He had to look up to see Ty’s face. “How have you been? After Livvy-”

Ty’s breath hitched. “Can- can I touch you?”

Kit nodded quickly and Ty pushed him back until he was lying on the bed. Ty climbed up next to him, head on Kit’s chest, arms tightly wrapped around each other. Ty’s fingers curled into Kit’s shirt while Kit rubbed circles onto his back.

“I miss her. Sometimes I forget and when I remember-” He broke off with a raspy breath and Kit felt a damp patch on his chest begin to grow. “I’ve just been focused on getting you back. I don’t know what I’m meant to do now.”

“You live. You can get through this. With or without me. I know you can, Tiberius.”

“I don’t _want_ to have to get through it without you though.”

“Then you won’t need to.” Kit said and everything, for one single moment in his fucked up life, seemed clear.

Ty lifted his head, eyes darting over Kit’s face who slowly lifted a hand to wipe a few of the tear marks away.

“You’re not going to leave?”

“Never permanently. Not as long as you’ll have me.”

Ty smiled. “A long time then.”

Kit laughed, gazing into his face. “I love you. I have for three years even when we were apart. No amount of time we’re not together will ever change that.”

Ty took in the words. Fitting them into the puzzle that had remained unsolved for too long.

He leant forward, pressing his lips to Kit’s, pouring all of his emotions into that single kiss.

It didn’t matter that Ty didn’t say the words back three years ago. It doesn’t even matter Ty doesn’t explicitly say them now. 

Kit can feel every bead of love coursing through Ty in the way he bites his lower lip the way he knows Kit likes. He can feel it in the hand that twists into his hair. He can feel it in the fingers dancing under his shirt, sliding against his stomach.

Kit can feel it in the way Ty makes eye contact with him to assert his point for his benefit. He can feel it in the way Ty shares the music he listens to. 

When they head downstairs to share the evening with all of the Institute’s inhabitants, Kit can feel it in the way Ty holds his hand. He can feel it in the way Ty answers all of Mina’s questions about animals. He can feel it in the way he laughs along to Jace and Clary’s teasings. 

Kit feels Ty’s love in the way they don’t need any words to both walk back to Ty’s room that night, both following their separate night time routines only to come together again as they hold each other close even as sleep pulls them apart, knowing full well they will be together when they wake up in the morning.

Prepared to face whatever the world wants to throw at them next, together.

~~~ 1 Year Later ~~~

“And have you packed-”

“Yes, mum. I’ve got it.”

Tessa smiled warmly at him as Kit moved through the cottage’s kitchen. He shouldn’t have been surprised when he moved back to Devon to find that he hadn’t forgotten where anything was.

“Besides, if I forget anything I’ll just ask you to portal it to me.”

“Kit!” Tessa called after, amusement in her voice, as he ducked out of the kitchen and hurried upstairs to grab his suitcase.

The ceremony had gone by smoothly. Well, apart from the intense pain that came from Kieran literally burning the faerie blood in him away. At least he could ask for as many kisses from Ty as he liked to make it better. 

It took him a while to figure out what he felt afterwards. Eventually, he learnt it was security. Not constantly looking over his shoulder, well, no more than the average Shadowhunter. Not scared to unpack his bags in case he needed to flee at a moment's notice.

Kit grabbed his bag and teleported downstairs with it. At least the ceremony hadn’t taken too much away from him.

Ty had still had one last year to finish at the Scholomance and Kit returned to his family in Devon without fear. They talked every day. Kit sent him photos of the animals he passed on his morning runs and Ty rang him in the middle of the night to discuss a particular case he was solving. 

The last time he saw Ty in person was his graduation a month back. All the Blackthorns came, of course, to celebrate. Ty had returned home with them, to spend time with the family he could. 

Kit checked his phone. No messages. He was about to send a text when the doorbell rang and standing on the other side was Ty. He couldn’t control the grin spreading across his face.

Kit took Ty’s suitcase and pulled it inside.

Ty had worried that going on a travel year wouldn’t have meant much to Kit, considering all of the travelling he did between Institutes over and over again.

Kit had assured him it would be completely different. He would be able to revisit his old friends and actually explain what the past situation had been to them.

But, ultimately, being on his own could never compare to seeing the world with Ty by his side.

Jem came down the stairs with Mina on his shoulders. “Tiberius! Or Centurion Tiberius I should now say.” He said with a wink.

Ty looked away, blushing slightly but looking pleased with the praise.

Tessa came in then and looked between the two of them. “I bet you two will be wanting to get on your way. I won’t hold you up.” She stepped forward and wrapped Kit in a hug. “Stay safe and enjoy yourselves,” she whispered.

Jem gave him an equally caring but firm hug afterwards. Stepping back, he placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you, Kit.”

Mina begged to be picked up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Ty said he’s going to send me photos of all the animals you see. Make sure he doesn’t forget, won’t you? Kit, please.”

Kit chuckled. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t, don’t worry.”

He looked over where Ty had been getting fond goodbyes as well from his parents. Kit realised then that he wasn’t the kind of person who had a permanent home. 

For him, a small piece of home would always be at the LA Institute. Another chunk will be with Tessa, Jem and Mina. His family. Wherever and whenever he sees them he knows he will be at home.

And the rest?

Well, the rest was with Ty. If Kit is with Ty he will feel at home. It isn't about four walls and a door; home is the place you can be yourself. No pressures or expectations. No worries or fears. A place to feel safe. And sometimes, home is a person.

Tessa steps forward to open the portal and Kit takes Ty’s hand. Waving one last goodbye and a ‘see you soon’, they both grip onto their suitcases. Ready, prepared, excited for this next chapter. 

The next adventure for them to face together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it!! The end!! (Promised I’d post it early for you lot - I’m expecting those souls in compensation)
> 
> Thank you all so so much for sticking through with me! This was my first multi-chap fic and the longest thing I've written to date and everyone's comments and support means so so much to me so thank you all!

**Author's Note:**

> I've finished writing this entire fic so I'll be updating it every week, promise
> 
> Title is from Elizabeth Bishop's poem 'Questions of Travel'
> 
> [Go check out my tumblr bookdragonbeth and give me a message if you fancy a chat!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/bookdragonbeth)


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